


Love As It Is - Part 6

by Biodiversity (SoraSato)



Series: Overdrive [6]
Category: Is It Love (Visual Novels)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/M, Jealousy, Multi, Non-con Anal Sex, Polyamory, Public Masturbation, Rough Sex, Threesome - F/M/M, men kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:28:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25558864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraSato/pseuds/Biodiversity
Summary: The kinky adventures of a talented young archaeology student at the Mystic Spell town full of supernatural creatures. She finds herself entangled in a polyamory with the Bartholy brothers, when the drop-dead gorgeous archaeology professor comes along to complicate things even further...Something unexplainable happens to Drogo and it's tied to the true nature of the professor...NOTE: The character of professor Sebastian Jones is a jaguar shapeshifter as explained in previous parts;Bartholys became Bartolis, Viktor became Vittore, Nicolae became Nicolas, and other minor differences.P.S. Finally, the tags seem to be right, sorry for the confusion
Relationships: Nicolae Bartholy/Peter Bartholy/Drogo Bartholy/Sebastian Jones/Original Female Character
Series: Overdrive [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774561
Kudos: 5





	1. The Potion

THE POTION

They said goodbye to the professor and headed for their class.

They saw Samantha staring at them from afar, obviously in no mood to go pester Sienna.

Drogo grinned.

“Are you happy now that uncle Drogo is back?”

Sienna pressed her temple to his shoulder, smiling.

“Of course, I am, Drogo!”

He lightly frowned.

“You make it sound like you mean it!”

The girl smiled tenderly.

“Yes, I do mean it. Sebastian is an integral part of me, but you also hold a place in my heart. Wherever I live, you are always special to me. To lose either of you for me is like to cut off an arm or a leg!”

Drogo stopped in his tracks, turned to face the girl, and attentively looked her in the eyes.

“Sienna, don’t play with my feelings, I might start to believe what you say and… it hurts…”

She answered to his inquisitive gaze calmly and openly.

“Look into me as deep as you can, and decide for yourself if I am truthful.”

Their looking into each other’s eyes resulted in them tenderly kissing on the lawn in front of the University presidentship.

“Oh, for crying out loud! Don’t overdo it!” Peter was standing not far from them, his emerald eyes shooting angry daggers.

Drogo reluctantly looked at his brother and curved his brow.

“So, you’ve spent a weekend in our nanny’s company and now are of the opinion that you can tell me what to do?”

Sienna sighed and told them:

“Guys, I bet there are more interesting topics for discussion. Like, how we are supposed to get to the charity event and what precautions we should take. I think I will have to drink from the glasses offered to you, or give you mine… Just don’t drink anything without me first tasting it… And… one other thought just occurred to me, but I will need Nicolas to mull it over…”

She quickly typed a text to the eldest brother: “ _On the mixture study. 1 of u should test my blood under its influence, & try 2 hypnotize me_.”

A reply came quickly.

“ _Are you sure_?”

“ _Yes. I believe u r the safest bet_ …”

“ _I’ll think about it_.”

She nodded to both brothers.

“Can we go now?”

Sarah was grinning at her from the last row, but when she saw Drogo, her face fell.

“Ok, this is weird,” mumbled Osborne under her breath, shifting to another seat to give space to the couple.

But it got even weirder, as Sienna asked Drogo:

“Will you drop me by that big grocery store? My baby ran out of rucola again! One would think he’s a goat, eating it in such quantities!”

Drogo laughed.

“And don’t forget the lube again, or I will be very upset!”

Sarah’s jaw dropped, and Sienna laughed at her friend.

“What? The lube goes great as a moisturizer at photoshoots, it gives a great sheen to the skin!”

But Drogo intervened, chuckling:

“And it also helps produce loud moans!”

Sienna turned scarlet, kicked him in the shin and hissed:

“Drogo!”

The blond vampire looked shocked like an innocent cherub:

“Sienna, I thought you shared everything with your BFF!”

The girl groaned and bit him on the shoulder. Drogo looked at her approvingly with a long stare that held a lot of promises…

The lecture began, and the girls did their best to focus on it.

***

“ _Love me, love me, love me like a loaded gun_ …” Sienna could not even explain how she managed to find such antiques but it seemed that such bizarre music found its way into her playlists on its own. She was dancing down the aisle of the grocery store, while Drogo, with boredom written all over his face, was pushing a cart and leafing through a fashion magazine. When they were moving past a shelf with kids’ water guns, he tossed one into the cart. Sienna took it and smirked:

“Ha-ha! Very funny!”

The blond vampire shrugged and mumbled:

“At least it’s funnier than me spending time in a grocery store!”

The girl grinned.

“You were the one insisting on going with me!”

“Did I have a choice?”

She listened to her earphones and exclaimed:

“Oh! Oh! This one will go wonderfully! _A Lover Spurned_! It has the perfect tempo!”

Drogo paused to listen to the music. He did not need her to remove her earphones to be able to listen to the track.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! _A Lover Spurned_?! For the charity event?! Don’t I have it written all over my face as it is?!”

Sienna jumped to him, grabbed his head in both her hands and hissed angrily:

“Stop this nonsense right now! Or do you think I love you only when I give you my ass?! Is this what love being for you?!”

The vampire stood motionless. He raised his eyes to look into hers and uttered in a flat voice:

“If I go deeper, I’ll die at your doorstep.”

Sienna deflated and dove into his gaze.

“Maybe that’s what is needed… to drown completely, and touch the bottom, and see the sun rays playing through the water…” she whispered, caressing his cheeks.

The man’s chest began vibrating with shallow uncontrollable trembling.

Finally, he could muster enough wind to utter hoarsely:

“It can get you killed…”

The vendor was observing the couple arguing. He shook his head – these artsy people are such a pain! He eyed the BDSM ad on the back cover once again. This girl is a real piece of work! She looked even better alive, and it seemed that her boyfriend had no clue how to handle such a hurricane. He chuckled to himself: “Don’t bite what you can’t chew, pally!”

They were standing well too far to hear him, but the blond man glared at the vendor as if the latter’s words could carry that far.

***

Hesitantly, Drogo put the bag of groceries on the porch and turned to leave, but the door opened, and Sebastian, letting Sienna come inside, cast a glance at the blond vampire and asked him casually:

“Do you drink wine?”

Surprised, Drogo stared at the man. His face recomposed several times until he finally said:

“A bit of red never hurt me…”

Sebastian sighed and opened the door wider.

“Help me unpack what you’ve brought.”

The blond vampire grinned crookedly.

“Are you trying to check out if I can cross the threshold without being invited?” he took the bag and stepped inside without hesitation. “Sorry to disappoint you. It doesn’t work.”

The professor looked more curious than disappointed. He nodded to the guest, shook his hand, took the bag, and went to the kitchen. By the splashing water, Drogo understood that Sienna went to shower.

He closed the door and entered the living room.

“Woah! So much ancient junk in one place! How can you live in such a mausoleum?”

Jones smiled slyly while opening a bottle of red wine.

“You tell me, you’re living in an 1870-ies manor…”

Drogo shrugged his shoulders, continuing his tour of the place.

“It’s not mine, I couldn’t care less…”

Sebastian handed him a glass of wine, strolled to a shelf, and tapped a few thick bound stacks of photocopies.

“Yet this ancient junk gave you what you wanted so much…”

The two men stared at each other probingly, then the host turned and said nonchalantly:

“Well, doesn’t matter. You have all the time in the world to uncover its mysteries.”

He returned to the kitchen, encouraging the guest to explore the territory, and Drogo went to the backyard. The weather was still cold in the evenings, and the sky was of an impossible sapphire hue studded with myriads of stars.

This was a strange day. It started oddly, unfolded in unpredictable ways, and neared its end with yet new perspectives… If Drogo’s heart could beat faster, it would undoubtedly be pounding like crazy.

Soon, he heard Sienna bursting out of the shower and chirping merrily about her new dance ideas.

Sebastian laughed.

“Do you want to become the first dancing archaeologist?”

She giggled.

“I want to do archaeological ballet!”

Both laughed, and Drogo felt his chest warm up to the indescribable feeling that their gentle, full of complicity laugh produced.

He saw Jones give his lover a glass of wine, taking one as well and going to the living room.

“I cannot choose a song for the charity ball!” Sienna complained to him, fiddling with the stereo system. “There is the Cold Song from King Arthur, Hauser’s unparalleled Adagio from the Concierto de Aranjuez, and the most sophisticated of them Antonio Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus by Andreas Scholl! It drives me crazy; I’m dreaming of dancing to it, but I know so little of ballet moves! Please teach me, I know that you’re familiar with it!”

Sebastian laughed and took the girl by the waist with his free hand, drinking his wine with the other one.

“Nisi Dominus? Are you kidding?” the first accords of the piece filled the room.

Jones began rocking the girl on his outstretched leg, letting her lean on it then prodding her to stand up, while listening to the melody. The perfect voice made him lightly smile and bend together with the girl. Then she whirled around and leaned against him, carefully balancing her glass in her hand.

They were both rapturously listening to the melody, moving and swaying as if composing a dance. At some point, Sebastian put his glass on a shelf to be able to lift his partner over his head. It transformed into a beautiful whirling descent when she leaned against him… Drogo caught himself staring breathlessly at the pair’s bewitching interaction with the magical music spreading around like a crystal bubble.

When it ended, Sienna put down her glass and waited for the famous cellist’s Adagio to begin. After only a few accords, Sebastian began nodding.

“This one will get more along with the tastes of the local public. It’s less sophisticated and easier to dance to…”

Sienna wrinkled her nose.

“I’m not looking for easier dances!”

Jones hugged her and said soothingly:

“My dear, we have only three days left!” Sienna sighed, and Sebastian added: “Why don’t we ask Drogo? He has a good taste in wine, photography, and women, so maybe his taste in music is as developed?”

The vampire opened the French window and returned to the house.

He put his empty glass in the kitchen and went to the living room.

“You may kill me, sweetness,” he addressed the girl, “but I’d say that Jones is right, take the Adagio now, and you will have more time to do something outstanding with Vivaldi for some other event.”

Sienna looked at him inquisitively. Sebastian burst out laughing.

“Oh, I know that look! Beware!” and he stepped away to take a sip from his glass.

The girl tried to remain serious when she asked the vampire:

“And what if you joined us?”

Drogo scoffed:

“A dancing threesome?”

The girl cocked her head.

“Why not?”

The vampire sighed.

“You’re impossible!”

Jones brought him a new glass of wine and said to him sympathetically:

“Take another one, it will make it easier to abandon all hopes of arguing with her.”

The rest of the evening was spent in dancing, drinking, cooking, discussing, eating, arguing, and laughing.

It was already late, when Sienna sighed, stood up, kissed Sebastian on the cheek, and went upstairs.

Jones gave her time to close the door to her room and stood up as well, made a few steps toward the hallway, turned to their guest, and asked neutrally:

“Are you coming?”

Drogo frowned. His chest inflated from a mix of emotions, and he curtly nodded, trying to appear nonchalant.

Both men crept up the stairs, and Sebastian knocked at Sienna’s door.

She answered: “It’s open.” There was some quiet music murmuring inside, and when they came in, they saw a single nightstand lamp lit. Sienna was standing in the middle of the room, smiling at them, her silk nighty quivering in sync with her pounding heart. Drogo made an effort to engrave the image with her facial expression in his memory, for he could not think of anything more beautiful and desirable than this mixture of adoration, vulnerability, and mild tension.

Sebastian made a step toward the girl, encircled her in his embrace, leaving space for Drogo, and kissed her on the lips. When the vampire approached them and lightly touched her waist, Jones began kissing the girl on the temple and cheek, leaving her lips for Drogo.

***

The next morning, the trio was in no mood for talking, but it did not mean they did not communicate. They did it with affectionate touches, strokes, kisses, and gestures, without resorting to vocal cords. Last night impressed them all and left them in awe. It was as if they were still listening to the echoes of the symphony that they had created, and this magical trance-like state made a lasting impression on all of them.

When Sebastian and Drogo returned from their morning exercise, and Sienna exited the shower after her yoga, Jones broke the spell by saying quietly:

“Now I know how to dance to that Adagio…” and Sienna happily smiled.

Jones looked probingly at Drogo.

“Will you come to today’s dance class?”

The latter nodded, still reluctant to speak. He could not shake the impression that all that they were doing: showering, making breakfast, brushing their teeth, and putting on clothes, - everything was filled with sense. Beautiful, divine, golden sense of each moment. He caught Sienna passing to her seat and tasted her lips. The sparkling instant, although it lasted for only a spell, felt like a sonata, and absolutely out of the blue made him remember the completely forgotten taste of vanilla pancakes with cream and blueberries. This sudden memory shook him to the core, a lump formed in his throat, and he felt blood spilling down his cheeks.

To explain this sudden phenomenon to his worried friends, he croaked:

“I… suddenly remembered… the taste of blueberries…”

Sienna pressed her palms to her mouth, her bosom throbbed with emotion, and tears stood in her eyes. Sebastian froze in place and, after a pause, very gently put a cup of tea on the table.

The girl tightly hugged the vampire and let him bury his face on her chest. He was sobbing like a baby; the taste of blueberries having brought him the gigantic realization of the loss of his life. He could not stop for another half-hour, having soaked Sienna’s pullover and shirt with his bloody tears. He felt completely devastated, and only the girl’s tight embrace gave him some sort of support.

After a while, Sebastian drew Sienna’s attention to himself and mimicked looking at the watch. She nodded, he kissed her, compassionately rubbed Drogo’s back and took off for his morning classes.

The girl stayed with her blond vampire friend, letting time fly as it pleases.

Corrie worked up the courage to approach professor Jones on his way to the lecture hall and asked, after greeting him:

“Professor, could you spare me some time today at the dance class? I was hoping to try a flip…”

Sebastian’s eyes, although warm and kind as usual, looked a bit distant today. He sighed, lightly touched the student’s shoulder and answered:

“I’m sorry… uh… Corrie, I’m not sure I will be attending dances today. But please remind me next time, and I will be glad to help you.”

A bit disappointed, Corrie nodded and let him go ahead.

Jones spotted Sarah waiting for her friend at the entrance and told her in passing:

“Miss Osborne, your friend miss Richards will skip my class today, so don’t wait for her. She’s fine, she’s caring for her… er… boyfriend, I’m sure she will call you later…”

Only after that did he finally exhaled in intermediate relief and entered his lecture hall with relative peace of mind.


	2. The Wake

THE WAKE

Sienna was sitting on the sofa and stroking Drogo’s head. The latter was lying quietly next to her, his face streaked with red. She ruffled his blond hair.

“Are you hanging in there?” she asked gently.

The sun shone through the kitchen windows, making Drogo’s hair glow with golden streaks. He did not reply, completely immersed in mourning.

She put a pillow under Drogo’s head, clambered from under his weight, went to the kitchen, and took a towel, wetted it, and returned to him.

The blood on the latter’s face was already dry, and it was hard to scrub it off. But it kept the girl busy, so she persisted, and wiped Drogo’s face clean. He was still refusing to communicate.

As ill luck would have it, today Jones was pestered by a swarm of petty affairs, preventing him from rushing home. His heart was sinking when he thought about the situation there, as his intuition was nudging him to intervene. Finally released, he hurried to his house. He heard Sienna’s pleading quiet voice and zoomed into the living room.

Drogo was looking like a cataleptic. He was lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, and did not react to the girl’s attempts to talk to him.

She sighed and looked at Sebastian. Jones opened his arms for her to come and hug him. When she did so, he pressed her tightly to his body and whispered to her:

“We need to conduct a proper wake for him because his spirit cannot pass into his new form without the ritual. Call Nicolas, it’s better if we have him here.”

Then he went to take a shower, put on fresh clothes, brought a bunch of smoldering sage, and put it near Drogo. Then he gave Sienna a glass of water, wiped her face with a wet sponge, and took out a few pieces of turquoise from a leather pouch.

When Nicolas arrived, Sebastian quietly explained to him the situation and what he wanted to do. Nicolas nodded but remarked:

“We have several sarcophagi in the basement of the manor, I believe we could use one of them.”

Sebastian agreed and added:

“But he needs to really want to get out of there if he wants to live. That’s important. So, it must not be a simple task…”

Nicolas sighed.

“We’ll do it hard for him.”

The men stripped Drogo of all clothes and wrapped him in a blanket. He let them do whatever they wished, staying oblivious to his surroundings. Now, they were buying time for themselves. It felt good to have enough of it to do nothing, to decide nothing. They were just sitting in the living room, watching the sage smoke undulate in slanted rays of the setting sun and observing Drogo’s barely perceptible breathing. Sometimes one of them would stand up to bring some water or to go to the toilet, but that was it, and it was all they wanted to do.

In a few hours, Sebastian went to his library, returned with a vessel that looked suspiciously like the top of a skull, then went to the kitchen, poured vodka in it to the brim, and went back to the living room.

He lipped the drink, handed the vessel to Nicolas, and asked him quietly:

“Can you please tell us if you know something of Drogo’s life before he was turned?”

The latter nodded, lipped vodka and told in a similar modality:

“I know little of him. He never liked to talk about it. His name was Martin, he never gave me his last name, maybe he did not know it himself. He spoke of the first world war, of famine and of drastic working conditions at factories. He was a survivor…”

Sebastian took the vessel from Nicolas and passed it to Sienna.

“Can you tell us of his character?”

The girl made a small sip of the drink, it burned her throat. She uttered:

“I barely knew him, but he was always full of panache, a true free spirit. Very creative too, he had an unparalleled sense of style and could deeply feel the beauty of the most mundane things around him… He was brave, had a great sense of humor, and had immense willpower… He was also passionate, and so impossibly tender…”

Suddenly, she began weeping, and Sebastian took her to his arms. He took another gulp of vodka and said:

“I am the least knowledgeable about Martin, but I know that he was an honorable man, who knew how to deal with his demons, and I respect him for that. Maybe life did not treat him well, but he never gave up and enjoyed it to the full. To Martin!”

They all drank from the vessel, then Sebastian dabbed his fingertips in the drink and swiped Drogo’s lips with it.

The professor returned to his seat, let out a long exhale, obviously preparing for something. It seemed that air in the room thickened and electrified.

Sebastian’s eyes shone like pale crystals, and his throat began spouting words in an unknown language, the sounds reverberating through his whole torso and spreading in waves across the room. He began chanting a song that made Sienna’s hair stand on end and skin crawl. Nicolas seemed to be deeply attuned to the song and spared no attention to anything else.

Jones’s voice was entrancing, and the song seemed to pulsate in the girl’s core. She couldn’t explain it, but where once stood her beloved professor she was seeing a fierce warrior with his body painted in black and yellow stripes, an obsidian mirror hanging on his left foot and long feathers making up his high headdress. His hand over Drogo’s heart like an eagle’s clawed paw, he seemed to rip something out of the latter’s chest, put it to his lips, swallow and let it go. Then, still chanting, he made a few jerky motions and leaned over Drogo’s lips; he pushed open his jaw, letting something from his mouth fall into Drogo’s mouth.

The song ended, Sienna blinked and saw that Jones was still sitting in his place as if he never left it.

Silence fell for another good half-hour, after which Sebastian nodded and rose.

“Let’s transport him into the sarcophagus.”

***

Having stared at each other for good five minutes, they understood that there was nothing to say, at least until the next morning. So, Sienna bid goodnight to both brothers, Nicolas and Peter, took Sebastian to her old bedroom and cuddled up against him on the bed, judging it best to leave all questions for the next day.


	3. The Awakening

THE AWAKENING

He emerged from a lulling coziness of light into a cold, damp, and dark environment. Something felt strange about it, but he remembered why he wanted to come back, his memory retaining the warm golden light of the morning sun and the taste of blueberries on his lips… and a smile, a laugh, someone’s eyes full of love, a golden halo of hair… It did not make sense. The image began fading but he made sure to fixate it in his memory… and it triggered another memory, an expression of adoration, vulnerability, and mild tension. What was so precious about it? He could not tell, but it had seemed so important to him!

He tried to feel his body. It felt numb, cold, and aching. He stretched out his arms only to feel cold and very solid substance. It was weird. Why couldn’t he get through it?

He tried to push at the substance, but it did not give in. Feeling mildly worried, he forced himself to collect his wits. Now, it was coming back to him.

“I am Martin, but later I took the name of Drogo, I lived for about a hundred years with my brothers, I met a ray of sunshine… Sienna! I must go back to her!” and suddenly a thought sent chills up his spine: what if he woke up too late?! What if too much time has passed?! He broke into a cold sweat and pushed at the top of his stone box with all his might. The stone ceded this time, and a gust of cold air rushed in.

Drogo pushed a few times more and soon managed to ease himself out of the stone box. His naked feet felt dusty cold floor, and he shivered. The environment pulsated in deep violet hues of pure blackness, and he had at first trouble finding the exit, but finally, a few sets of stairs led him to a door. It was bolted.

Impatiently, he began pounding at it, but no one came. He tried to break it, but it was old and very solid.

After having exhausted himself, he squatted on the ground and leaned on the door. It was damp, cold, and quiet. Drogo dosed off. A very vivid dream woke him up. There was a couple, and the three of them were dancing and laughing, and kissing each other…

Drogo stood up and rubbed his body to return flexibility to it and to get a bit warmer. He examined the room again. The closed door remained the only exit. The anxiety returned. For some reason, he was panicking at the idea of the passage of time!

Resolutely, he began examining all sarcophagi. Several contained poorly preserved bones, and he was close to despairing when in one of the sarcophagi he suddenly felt a rusted metal bar clutched in the hands of another mummy.

He snatched it and felt it in his fingers. Trying not to feel too hopeful, he rushed to the door and fitted the metal bar into the keyhole. Hallelujah! It _was_ the key!

Drogo employed all his strength to turn the key, and the lock gave in at last. The door opened.

The man darted outside and looked around. The mansion looked the same. It was night, but the moon shone quite brightly. He listened. The building stood silent like a sepulcher. Almost panicking, he rushed to the calendar that, as far as he could remember, hang in the kitchen. Then he remembered that they always forgot to turn its pages. But maybe he would be lucky to learn the year!

The calendar was indeed there, but, surprisingly, the year number told Drogo exactly nothing, because he could not remember the number of the last year.

Worried, he rushed to the second floor, to his room, and found it to his relief as much the same as he remembered it.

Looking for any device that could tell him time, he picked up a slip of paper from his table. It was an invitation to a charity event. Somehow this felt important. But again, there was no means to tell whether this event was due to happen or if this ticket was a few years old.

Drogo felt the paper. It was crisp. He smelled it. There was a faint smell of typographic paint. Thinking fast, the man looked around and saw a door to the bathroom. He was not sure why he thought it was a bathroom, but he turned out to be right.

He turned the faucet and stepped into the shower. Hot water made him a world of good! The unreality of the situation began thawing under hot streams of water, and he climbed onto the soft towel in a much livelier mood.

Briskly, he put on some officially looking clothes, pocketed the invitation, and hurried to the exit.

Having arrived at the town hall, he had a good feeling that at least something was happening inside, so he tossed his car key to the valet and resolutely strode to the entrance. The charity event was announced in big letters across the front of the lobby, the date on the banner matching the date on the ticket, and a security guard calmly accepted his invitation.

Feeling extremely nervous, he hurried to the main hall, attracted by a multitude of voices and sounds of music.

He could not remember, whether he knew any of these people, so he just strolled among them, looking into their faces.

Although there were a few couples dancing, he had a feeling that the people he was searching for were not among them. The delicious smells of fresh food attracted him, and he found his way to a long table covered with dozens of dishes. He selected a few tartines and ate them with such relish as if he hadn’t been eating for years! He wolfed down a few other snacks and caught sight of an elderly man, who was looking at him with cheerful surprise. Seeing that Drogo noticed him, he made his way to the man and stretched out his hand, smiling amiably.

“Ah! Isn’t this our famous Drogo Bartoli! Glad you could make it and that you’re enjoying so much our modest appetizers! I was told that you were away for business… I must compliment you on the choice of the model for your ad campaign, your fiancée is a true rising star…!”

Drogo was not sure who this man was and what he was talking about, but the mention of a fiancée gave him hope.

“By the way, have you seen her tonight?” he asked carelessly, pretending to be more interested in canapes than in the man’s answer.

“Ah, but of course! Sadly, she announced that she would not be gracing us with her lovely performance tonight, a sprained ankle, I believe…? But she is somewhere here along with your brother and Dr. Jones…”

Drogo nodded to the man and automatically said:

“It was nice to meet you Mr. Mayor, hope to see you later…”

Huh, so this was the mayor? At least the man was not surprised by this title and casually bowed to him.

His fiancée… was she the one he was looking for?

He snatched another canape from the table and went on roaming and looking into people’s faces.

Suddenly, someone’s sharp attention poked at his side, and he turned to see who it was.

Three people were standing near a wall, two men, one young beautiful woman, all three looked pleasantly shocked. The young woman looked particularly striking in her sapphire dress with the whitest miniver wrap on her shoulders; she could not tear her beautiful tender eyes off of him.

Drogo finished the last of the canape, wiped his hands on the towel of a passing waiter, and went straight to the three people.

At first, their eyes were searching his face as if there was something wrong with him but then they began smiling at him.

“What? Do I look weird to you or something?” he was surprised at his manner of speaking with them but it worked like a charm on them as if they recognized it. The young woman took a step toward him, took him by the hand, and stared searchingly in his eyes.

“He is almost warm…” she noted, probably to the benefit of her companions, and asked him: “Drogo? Are you all right?”

He frowned. The sound of her voice stirred his memory.

“Sienna…” he could not believe how his voice became croaky from sudden emotion. “I was afraid it was too late…!”

“Too late for what?” exclaimed a tall man with long brown hair, probably his brother.

Drogo looked at him, frowning. He could not explain it for now. The meaning of the urgency that pushed him to hurry became vague, almost ungraspable, lingering somewhere at the edges of his consciousness.

The third man, a handsome tall black-haired specimen with alabaster skin and piercing clever aquamarine eyes stretched out his hand toward Drogo’s wrist and mumbled: “May I…?” He felt Drogo’s pulse, and his brows shot up in surprise. “Not only he is not cold, but he has a very slow but steady pulse!”

The brown-haired man exclaimed: “What?!” and took Drogo’s wrist as well. His touch was cool, not unpleasant, but somehow odd.

Then this man frowned and asked him in a nearly threatening manner:

“Who are you?”

Drogo was surprised. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I have no idea what you are talking about. I am me. I’m a little confused, but it seems to pass little by little… I was searching for you…” he looked at the young woman and saw the same halo of golden hair and the same eyes. Her facial expression was hard to read, but there was restrained joy in it, and Drogo smiled. “I remember you…”

He suddenly kissed her, and happily exclaimed:

“Blueberries! Now I remember! You taste of blueberries!”

A fresh ripple of surprise passed through the three people, they exchanged merry glances, the men began patting him on the shoulders, and the sweet-smelling Sienna happily hugged him.

“Finally! We were beginning to worry about you!”

Drogo pressed her tightly to his body.

“Oh, I hope you did worry for me, little thing!”

He cast a long and profound look in Dr. Jones’s eyes and nodded to him.

“I owe you, man. But for now, I’ll steal your woman!” and, grinning, he pulled Sienna to the dance floor. “I assume your sprained ankle was just because you were in no mood to dance without me?”

She joyfully shook her head, squeezing him in her arms:

“I did sprain it when we trained yesterday…”

Drogo mockingly frowned and lifted her, whirling them both.

“You were dancing while I was dead? You’re such a bad girl that I will need to punish you tonight…” he started kissing her avidly on the mouth. People around them began smiling and clapping.

Her one-legged performance added spice to their dance, as both men lifted, carried, and whirled her so many times that she practically did not have to touch the floor.

Drogo caught again on that exquisite, sweet, airy feeling that they were having on that night, and his heart sang with delight. He understood Sebastian’s moves on the fly and looked with infinite joy into Sienna’s bright eyes.

Having thoroughly had fun on the dance floor, their sweaty faces shining with glee, they returned to Nicolas, who was very apropos conversing with the mayor.

The mayor looked brimming with pleasure upon seeing the dazzling Sienna. He clapped his hands, then took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“I am absolutely smitten, miss Richards! A shame I no longer possess the physical prowess of your companions to dance with you tonight! You’ve managed to transform your misfortunate incident into an absolutely gorgeous peculiarity! I will soon have to hire you as an entertainer for our dull events! And I am not joking!”

Sienna smiled charmingly.

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with my studies, I’ll be happy to dance at any of your events, sir!”

The mayor, happy as a puppy with two peckers, laughed.

“I’ll make sure my office makes you a sweet deal, miss Richards, and more!”

Sienna blinded him with her smile, cocked her head, and leaned to him, giving him an opportunity to smell Peter’s magnificent perfume.

“Speaking of which, sir, may I steal your attention for another ten seconds?”

“Anything, dear miss Richards!”

She cast a coquettish glance at her companions, turned away from them, and gently asked the mayor:

“I was hoping you could share a little secret with me, sir… Last time, at your house, you offered me a very nice tea. I liked it so much that I wanted to present it to Drogo… Would it be too much to ask you to share the recipe with me?”

The mayor looked at her, smiling slyly.

“Oh, I get it, miss Richards. It is indeed a good tea for young lovers… And I am more than willing to help you. I do not remember it by heart, but if you drop by my office on Monday, say, at lunchtime, I’ll share it with you.” He winked at her conspiratorially, turned to her companions, bowed to them, and left.

Nicolas grinned.

“A perfect honey-trap. I suppose we should remain visible not to look like we already got what we came for. Sienna, are you in a suitable condition to accord me a dance?”

Sienna smiled at the eldest brother.

“For you, always!”

Unexpectedly, Nicolas turned to his buddies, made a teasing face, and lifted the girl with ease and practice of a seasoned ballet dancer.

The two guys exchanged glances. Sebastian curved his brow.

“Has he just wiped our noses there?”

Drogo burst out laughing.

“He did us in, bro!”

Back at Jones’s house, the three of them were examining Drogo from head to toe. The fact that he had eaten normal food was very disquieting.

But Drogo was of another opinion.

“I am no zombie, okay? At least I don’t feel like eating brains…!” he was beginning to get irritated. It looked like an interrogation as if he was guilty of something. “I was absent for just a couple of days and ate a few snacks, big deal! What’s wrong with that?!”

Nicolas shook his head.

“In short? Everything. I have no clue what will happen to you after that. No vampire has ever _wanted_ to eat human food after his turning.”

Drogo frowned.

“I cannot get why you are mad at me for that! And what’s wrong with me being weird? As if it were something new!”

Nicolas tried to keep it cool and patiently explained:

“Drogo, you’ve done nothing wrong, sorry I gave you the impression of being mad at you, it’s not the case, believe me! If nothing else, I am madly happy that you decided to return…!”

“You’ve got a strange way of showing it!” he snapped, sulking.

Nicolas went on:

“I need to find an explanation of why you could eat those canapes…”

Drogo looked at the brother as if the latter was an imbecile.

“And what do you want me to eat? Snips and snails, and puppy dogs’ tails?”

The three exchanged puzzled glances again.

Nicolas carefully explained:

“For the last hundred years, you’ve been living on blood.”

Drogo’s interest in what his brother had to say began dwindling. He stood up to stretch his limbs and languorously put his hands onto Sienna’s bare clavicles.

“So, where’s Pete and Lorie? I couldn’t find them at the manor…” he asked, caressing her shoulders.

Nicolas sighed.

“I sent them away, to another manor in South Carolina, for a time. But now I suppose it would be all right to call them back… Lorie will be happy to see you, Peter too…”

Drogo leaned to the girl and asked her:

“So, little thing, do I feel unpleasant to you?”

She half-closed her eyelids and gave in to his massage.

“No, Drogo. And you still smell of embalming incense…”

He laughed and explained to his buddies:

“When we were taking a bath, she worried that I was a kind of mummy that could get damaged by soaking in water! So cute!”

He leaned still lower and planted a series of kisses on her neck, nibbled on her ear, and ended up demandingly inserting his tongue into her mouth. The girl stirred and moaned, feeling his hands crawling to her breasts.

Then Drogo reluctantly interrupted himself and looked at the two other men.

“I requisition this little thing for one last test by the right of a freshly-resurrected… thing! Good night, gents!” he grabbed the girl and zoomed upstairs.

Sebastian clenched his jowls, looked askance at Nicolas, and asked:

“Tequila, vodka, or whiskey?”

Drogo felt her burning with desire, but he still lingered, caressing this attractive body, feeling her pulse, hearing her sighs, and her pounding heartbeat. He knew well that when he covered her nipples with his mouth and started to swirl his tongue, it drove her crazy. She arched, offering herself to him, and he finally entered her with a single powerful thrust of his hips. She cried out and looked at him with dazed eyes.

She pressed his head to her breasts, tousling his hair and rocking her hips under him. Drogo found a better purchase for his legs and plumbed her again just to hear her cry. Oh yes, that was all he wanted at the moment – to hear her cry with pleasure. Her noises were sending shivers up his spine, delectably electrifying him. His own pleasure soared still higher when he put her leg on his shoulder and bit it without lengthening his canines, feeling at the same time the maddening friction of his cock against her juicy insides. He enjoyed watching her face, looking into her eyes, seeing her blush, and open her mouth that he wanted to possess as much as her other orifices.

He could do it for hours with her, no other woman managing to come even close to the desire he felt for this fragile young being. Finally, he sensed that she was impatient to cum and gave it to her as best he could. Their groans could be heard in the whole neighborhood.

Sebastian and Nicolas were deep in chess and drinking, spiced by lounge jazz when they heard a rising crescendo. They both listened to it with airs of connoisseurs, then shrugged their shoulders, toasted, drank from their glasses, and resumed the game.

Nicolas observed the board and murmured pensively:

“Maybe we should give her a master-class together to supply a thought or two…”

Sebastian curved his brow ironically and uttered, still busily looking at the board:

“That girl could give a master-class to me, that’s for sure. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven… or to hell!”

Nicolas, eyes set on his bishop, asked:

“Two fingers?”

Jones nodded.

“Yup.”

The vampire sighed.

“She can make a man’s body sing like a cello…”

Sebastian smiled crookedly.

“Speaking of mastery… No one can rape and make the victim beg for more, but she did it… Made me totally lose control…” He yawned and put his king flat on the board. “Anyway, this night has been extremely trying for me, I need to sleep it off if you don’t mind… There is a guestroom on the first floor if you feel lazy, or you can go take a look at my library…”

***

Early next morning, Sebastian was sipping tea on his veranda and musing on when his house had become a vampiric den of iniquity, his ordered lifestyle blown to smithereens… Not that he protested, he was used to people clinging to him, but vampires…? Sure, they came after Sienna, but the fact remained the same – they were invading his territory… He somehow doubted that he could introduce such characters to his regular friends…

“Good morning!” greeted him Nicolas, appearing on the veranda and squinting at the sun. “Did you get to sleep a wink?”

Sebastian winced.

“I used earplugs… But him being alone with her still bugs me, even if he is a great partner at a threesome…”

Nicolas knowingly nodded.

“I can safely confess that I’m jealous of you as well, she merged with you on such a deep level that the rest of us can only dream about it…”

Sebastian sighed and stood up.

“Still doesn’t make it easier.” He shrugged off his robe and went to the pool. Then he turned to the vampire and asked: “How about a sparring match afterwards?”

Nicolas laughed.

“You are very self-assured, my friend, but all right, I’ll go gentle on you…”

Jones crookedly grinned: “That’s what we’ll see!” and dove into cold water.

When he reached the surface for a gulp of air, he noticed the naked Drogo munching on a peach and leaning on the doorframe.

It was funny to observe Nicolas stare at his brother wordlessly. The latter, nonchalantly displaying his large raw stiff penis took Sebastian’s chair and sipped from the host’s teacup.

The master of the house just slapped his palm against his face and roared with laughter. He thought, shaking his head: “A hundred years old are the new thirteen years old!”

Then he yelled at Drogo:

“Hey, young cock, there is a no-dick-outside-the-bedroom policy in this house, go get something for your pride!”

Drogo smiled at him with no defiance whatsoever, more conspiratorially and gratefully than anything else, nodded and disappeared in the kitchen.

Nicolas looked pissed-off. Sebastian resumed his swimming practice.

***

Contrary to Sebastian’s misgivings, his friends and the vampire brothers mingled perfectly together, and the evening was rolling out lightly and merrily like sparkling wine. All people were well-educated and well versed in arts and history, well-travelled, possessed broad-based knowledge in a variety of fields, they had creative minds and vivid imagination and were generally very outgoing and good-natured like their host.

All of them were aware of the BDSM ad campaign, which made Drogo the man of the evening because all of them appreciated a clever and deep image among a sea of tasteless intrusive crap.

“Her stare is haunting! I saw the image perhaps fifty times or so, and each time I see something different in her eyes as if she was reflecting my own state of mind!” an expressive swarthy young woman with a huge dandelion of mane on her head was sharing her impressions with Drogo. Many guests wanted to know all the details of the photoshoot from the director himself. The night was still young when he received four photoshoot proposals, seven indecent proposals, and one blow-job.

Sebastian bumped into Sienna in the entrance hall. He smiled at her.

“Seems this house is lately overrun by hordes of guests…”

She nodded but seemed upset or preoccupied.

Jones caressed her cheek.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

She sighed.

“Where are your car keys, baby?”

Sebastian frowned.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to drive somewhere after several drinks?”

The girl shook her head.

“I don’t intend to go anywhere. I just want to be with you in that pickup of yours! There is so much noise in this house I cannot think straight!”

Without any comment, Jones took the car keys, put his glass on the windowsill, and went to the car.

They climbed inside and closed the doors. A long, relieved sigh escaped them. The car seemed like an anti-noise sanctuary. For a few minutes, they were simply resting.

Sienna looked at the man, a dreamy look on her face.

“Each time I do it with someone else, I need to return to you. And when we get closer with you, I run to someone else to put up a distance between us. What’s wrong with me?”

Sebastian sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“The classical reason would be that you are afraid or aren’t ready for a stable relationship. But since we know better, I’d say you are right to put a distance between us, it keeps us from consuming each other. We need other people and events not to stay in bed until complete exhaustion.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Too much for my sanity.”

They kissed tenderly; their caresses restricted to a bare minimum.

She whispered:

“I love it when you’re giving me the Dale orgasm and I can feel you in me for hours… I can look into your face, into your eyes, breathe the air you breathe, and kiss you all over…”

“You want it now?”

“When you chase all guests away and we are left alone in silence!”

He laughed softly.

“Now that’s a sound idea!”

“Did you hear me cumming yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Sienna began covering his cheek with butterfly kisses.

“I know you were angry. But did you get aroused?”

He exhaled longingly.

“Yes.”

“What did you want to do?”

“I wanted to plaster you to the floor. Or bend you over and fuck you roughly…”

She smiled, kissing his neck.

“So, you could not decide?”

He took her head in his hands and gave her such a deep kiss, that muscles in her vagina involuntarily contracted and her nipples stood like two small turrets.

Someone knocked at a window glass.

Sebastian swore under his breath and opened the window. It was his friend the architect. He was heavily tipsy.

“Sorry to disturb you guys, but we cannot find the wine crate you spoke of…”

Jones collected his wits, because, frankly, the wine crate was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

“Let me think…” he muttered, leaning on the dashboard.

The architect was in no hurry. He ogled Sienna with curiosity and guffawed:

“So, you’re in the process of stealing Drogo’s fiancée? Isn’t she your student?”

Sienna went ballistic that people spoke in her presence as if she were an inanimate object, so she retorted:

“You know what, as soon as you get out of here, I’ll let Sebastian fuck me in the ass because I want him to! And I don’t give a damn if you go tell Drogo!”

The architect chortled:

“Oh, this little lady is surely pissed off! I’d watch out for her teeth, buddy!” he winked at Sebastian and scrambled away at an unsteady pace.

“It’s him who’d better watch out for my teeth!” muttered Sienna, looking unkindly in the guest’s wake.

Sebastian groaned and tossed his head back.

“I’m so waiting for Monday! The campus is so peaceful, and students are heaven-sent little angels! Thank God it starts in one day!”

Sienna sighed.

“With all this Drogo business, I missed your Wednesday lecture. Would you lend me your notes?”

“No.”

“Do you fantasize about me during your lectures?”

“I try not to. You are distractive enough.”

“Do you want me to come to your class without panties in your favorite red mini-skirt?”

“No. That’s blackmail. And no, I will not give you my notes.”

“Oh, but from now on, when you see me in that skirt, you will be wondering whether I have my panties on…”

“Sienna, stop it.”

She grinned triumphantly.

“Ah, you are starting to give in!”

Sebastian was trying to remain relaxed, leaning against the headrest with his eyes closed.

“You will not make me give up my notes. Not with blackmail. Period.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s not really blackmail. In a roomful of students, it’s just an innocent fantasy…”

“Case closed.”

“You will not reconsider it even if I lick your anus?”

He opened his eyes and his mouth and stared speechless at the girl. Then he mockingly frowned and grumbled:

“You wicked little thing!”

“Hey, that’s Drogo’s line! So, is it a ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”

Sebastian gritted his teeth and leaned his head back onto the headrest, purposefully closing his eyes.

“You wouldn’t do that…” he said in a tone as if he wasn’t even considering such a thing.

The girl’s eyes glinted in the dark.

“Oh, I’m already getting excited at the mere thought…”

He sighed and protested feebly:

“Just don’t rape me again, will you…?”

“I’ll do it gently, with my tongue…”

He moaned, his eyes still closed, his member throbbing painfully in his pants.

“Damn you girl! You are defiling me!”

“Can I have your notes?”

He collected all his will and stayed silent for a moment, forcing himself to say ‘no’, but then couldn’t resist it anymore and burst out:

“Yes. Put on that red skirt and go to my bedroom. Now!”


	4. Grace

GRACE

Drogo knocked at the door to Dr. Jones’s office and peeked inside with his usual mocking smile.

“Hey… I’ve got something for you…”

Sebastian nodded and glanced inquisitively at the vampire.

“C’mon in.”

Drogo squeezed inside carrying a huge frame wrapped in brown paper.

“I thought you needed a fresh decoration in your office…”

Sebastian stood up from his desk and removed the wrapping. An admiring sigh escaped him.

“Wow…! That’s… incredible…!”

It was a photo of his most sophisticated pirouette in the ‘hellish eight’ dance. Light figures on black background. The moment was caught with magical precision. Sebastian’s pose flattered his impressive figure, and Sienna… well, Sienna was hovering in the air with a weightless grace of a heron. Both their faces were illuminated with such feeling and reflected such concentration that it was impossible to look at them without reverential awe.

“This is beautiful!” exclaimed Sebastian truthfully, still trying to grasp the whole picture.

Drogo shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Well, that’s proof that you indeed do some training with the little thing, and not just make out with her all around campus!”

Jones looked disapprovingly at the cheeky vampire and retorted:

“Campus is your territory.”

Drogo grinned and winked at him.

“You know what I mean… You cannot hide the expression in your eyes, and I happen to be very observant. I also wanted to get a print of our ad for you but it’s too self-incriminating to hang it in your office, so I got it delivered to your haunt. It will look well in your bedroom…”

Jones cast him a sideward glance.

“You sure thought it through…”

Drogo scratched his ear and shrugged his shoulders.

“Bah, I just thought it’d look good on that wall…” he took out a thumb-drive from his pocket and put it on the professor’s desk. “And this is just an assortment of photos I gathered over time… Maybe you’ll help me choose the one for the next ad…”

Sebastian looked at his watch.

“I have half an hour until next lecture…”

Drogo, maintaining a deadpan face, nodded, and took another chair to sit next to Jones. The latter inserted the thumb-drive into his laptop and opened the file…

In the first photo, Sienna was grinning into the camera while riding a municipal bike, her big earphones covering half her head, sun shining in her hair. Her stare was cheerful and direct, both childishly innocent and profound, not every adult could look other people in the eyes displaying such countenance. Sebastian’s mouth went dry. It was as if he was drawn into that day, into that picture…

In the next photo, she was dreamily looking outside the car window.

Soundly sleeping in her bed at the manor.

Singing in the bathroom with a hairbrush in guise of a microphone…

In another one, two girls were giggling lying at the bottom of a boat.

One could stare at each photo for hours.

Sebastian cleared his throat.

“Each of these photos is a piece of art, Drogo. I am speechless…”

The door burst open, and Sienna unceremoniously darted in, leaving the door wide open.

“What are you doing here, guys?” she asked, trying to peek from behind Drogo’s shoulder at the screen. The vampire mockingly grinned at her and said acidly:

“Just two old lechers drooling over photos of young girls…” he nodded toward the framed picture on the wall. “See anyone you know?”

Sienna made a few steps toward the picture and let out an awed sigh.

“This is… incredible!”

Having given her some time to have a good look at the picture, Jones asked her in a cool tone:

“Remind me why you barged into my office without knocking, Miss Richards?”

Drogo leered at Sienna and whispered to her conspiratorially: “Aaawww! Prepare to be punished tonight, little thing!”

The girl cringed, but only for one moment, and perkily replied:

“The whole class is waiting, Dr. Jones, and they sent me to find you… Unless you want to cancel your lecture and continue watching those photos. As far as I can see, you haven’t reached the naughtiest ones yet!”

Jones froze for a moment, looked at both mischief-makers, and chased them out of his office, cursing the day he’d met them. Then he closed the laptop, put the thumb-drive into his breast pocket, grabbed his files, and went out of his office.

***

The dancing photo made a nation-wide success. It featured in the Aperture Magazine, and its prints sold by hundreds.

Drogo laughed contentedly when someone congratulated him on his achievement and enjoyed his high-visibility status to the full.

Which made Nicolas furious.

“I’m expecting a call from Vittore any minute! If you continue like this, you risk our coverage blown!”

But Drogo carelessly shook his head:

“Before that happens, I might enjoy a couple of dozens of years of success and independent prosperity. Then I will figure out something else. But the best thing is to hide in plain sight, I believe Vittore can only attest to that, also, he has never been against any additional income, as far as I know. And me out of his hair is a substantial increase in his capital. So don’t fret and enjoy the ride!”

***

Mrs. Jones was admiring the picture of her son. The moment was captured so perfectly that it could only be a miracle. She dialed his number.

“Hi, mom.”

“Seen your picture. I’m speechless! Who’s the photographer?”

Sebastian’s voice wasn’t keen.

“A guy…”

But it did not dissuade his mother.

“And who is your partner?”

“A girl…”

His mother quickly put on a stern voice:

“Sebastian Caleb Jones, what’s happening?”

Her son sighed.

“What do you want me to tell you? These are just people I know, that’s all. I’ve been harassed about this picture for days! And everyone asks the same questions you do! It’s worse than an interrogation!”

Mrs. Jones softened.

“Ah, sorry, dear. But surely you can understand my curiosity. The eye of this photographer and the girl’s grace are simply… outstanding! And I even don’t talk about you! You’ve built quite a body…! I’m just happy for you.”

“Thanks. There is a video of that dance on Youtube…”

“The one I’ve already watched for like gazillion times?” she chuckled. “Oh, it’s beautiful. And the girl is just adorable… Do you…”

But Sebastian interrupted her:

“How’s Joseph?”

She did not insist.

“Haven’t seen him in a while. Same as you.”

“Mom, you’ve seen me on Christmas.”

“Ah, it was a long time ago… You know… this dream I had, remember…?”

Sebastian wasn’t inclined to discuss it either. Reluctantly, he grumbled:

“Yes. About my cut head. That’s what happens when someone gives biblical names to her children!”

But it did not discourage Mrs. Jones. She hesitated, trying to put into words something elusive that had been bugging her.

“You know, I looked up the Mystic Spell mayor… I know that all politicians paint a bright image of themselves, but this one is simply squeaky clean! I mean, who can be so dull? I looked up any news relating to his youth, but, c’mon, a botany hobbyist nerd who never even had a speeding ticket?! I don’t know, dear, it hasn’t been sitting well with me ever since…”

Sebastian sighed.

“Yeah, mom, I know. I’m no fool to ignore your intuition, but there isn’t much I can go on with for now. Apart from him having a nice garden, he is… well, just a mayor…”

Mrs. Jones made a loud exhale.

“It’s hard to learn anything more at such a distance, and it worries me…”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. He already caught wind of where it was leading.

“Are you out of inspiration again, mom?”

The woman grumbled.

“Yeah… You know me well…”

“Get a fresh issue of the National Geographic, or a young lover, or book a trip to the Metropolitan Museum! You know the drill better than me.”

Mrs. Jones’s voice modulation suggested that she curved her brow much in the same manner as her son:

“A young lover, you say? And what about you? Got any lover? You’ve got such tremendous chemistry with that dancer that I…”

“Mom, we are not talking about me, we are talking about ways to get you inspired. Maybe go to a spa for starters…”

But she was already on her favorite subject.

“Will I ever see a ring on your ring finger? Or are you planning to consecrate your life to digging through the Earth? Ann-Marie was such a beautiful girl and you just let her go! I still cannot believe it…!”

Her son rolled up his eyes.

“Mrs. Jones, are you done pestering me? Get inspiration and call me when you have one, okay?”

When he hung up, Sienna slyly grinned.

“Anne-Marie?”

Sebastian sighed.

“We were in college, but then… many things happened, then I received the gift of transformation, and it changed me for good… Everything became… different…”

He didn’t seem particularly perturbed about it, and Sienna dropped the subject.

She was putting on black diamond earrings and making herself pretty for the meeting with the mayor.

Sebastian frowned.

“My mother said she found information on the mayor being a botany hobbyist. Be careful with what you consume in his office!”

The girl grinned at him.

“And you, be careful with my dear friends, they act worse than a pack of female vampires around you.”

“Are you jealous?”

Sienna stepped toward the man and glided her palms over his pectorals.

“If you want any of them or the whole bunch, just say the word. Only give me a chance to watch it, you know how I love seeing ecstasy on your face, and I would love to see them worship your penis…”

She almost touched his lips with hers, then turned around and went out of his reach.

Sebastian sighed and tossed his book aside.

“And how am I supposed to read after that?!”

He heard her laugh from the hallway.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out!”

And she was gone.

***

The mayor was sweetness itself, and Sienna inwardly braced herself. She drank the offered tea, complimented it, and finally received the recipe. She tried to ask as many questions as she dared – being a would-be archaeologist, she was naturally interested in various remedies around the world.

Gladly, the lunchtime ended, and she finally could leave.

Having closed the door behind her, she exhaled. It was like having a conversation with a shark in a clown costume. The girl checked time. She could still make it to the biology class. How apropos!

***

After another successful dance class, Sienna and Corrie exited the locker room, chitchatting merrily and approached Sebastian. The man was casually leaning on the wall and reading something on his phone.

“What are you always reading?” asked him Sienna, trying to peek at the screen.

Jones sighed and turned the phone so that the girl could see the screen.

“A novel?” she was surprised. “Now that’s odd…”

The man shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s probably the only time in the day when I can do it.”

Corrie, wishing to be noticed, asked:

“And what is its title?”

“Number9dream. Hadn’t the chance to read it when it was first published, so I’m trying to catch up…”

Corrie nodded importantly and asked:

“And who’s the author?”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders.

“David Mitchell.” Then he turned to Sienna. “So, did you get that paper?”

She nodded without any comment.

Corrie tried to turn the tables again and asked both people:

“What do you say about having a night out at the Motorcat? They are having the Shallow Pretender this Friday with their Season of Euphoria album…”

Sienna smiled. “Yeah, why not! I must say I’m not very much familiar with the Shallow Pretender songs…”

But Corrie was waiting for Jones’s reply.

The man seemed preoccupied and answered absent-mindedly:

“I’ll have to check with my schedule. Ladies, have a good night.”

And he strolled away at a brisk pace.

Corrie frowned.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Sienna made a vague gesture.

“Well, Friday does seem far away on Monday…”


	5. Family Matters

FAMILY MATTERS

She waited for the passers-by to leave and hurriedly climbed the stairs to the porch and opened the door. To enter or to leave Jones’s house was the trickiest part of her stay there. But she never had any regrets about it. Once inside, she took off her vest and shoes and entered the living room. She loved every feature of this house – the same as she loved its owner. Everything here reminded her of him and had his smells and his personality imprinted everywhere.

She felt very much at home here… until she heard a knock on the door…

She jumped. Did someone see her enter? She peeked at the side window and gasped.

There was a huge man the size of the meanest football player on the porch. He behaved self-assuredly as a man who knew where he came.

Sienna cursed under her breath. When Jones wasn’t home, she avoided opening the door… But suddenly, her phone loudly bleeped. She cringed and checked on the man outside. He did not look like he heard anything but Sienna could not be sure. She carefully checked her phone and switched off all sounds. There were two messages from Sarah. Her friend was worried about her and offered to meet for a girls’ night out.

The offer was very tempting, but what was she to do with the man on the porch? He knocked again, louder.

The girl sighed and texted Sebastian: “There is a huge man on your porch. I need to go out. What to do?”

She waited for his answer interminably long, when finally, Jones replied: “Use the back door if you must. I’m on my way.”

She sighed and cast a glance at the porch. Shit! The hulk was nowhere to be seen.

Sienna tried not to panic when she heard someone trying the back door. She struggled to remember whether they locked it in the morning, but then recalled that Jones was the last to leave the house, which meant that he could leave it open.

The girl darted to the main door and had a momentary hesitation – what if the beef was not alone? But it would be worse if he entered the house and saw her inside! So the girl hurriedly scuttled through the door locked it and ran away as fast as she could. Having run for two blocks, she texted Sarah: “I’ll b @ ur place in 20,” and went to the bus stop.

When she recounted her misadventure to her friend, the latter shook her head.

“You just refuse to have a plain life! What a drama!”

Sienna was still excited.

“Imagine the four of us, the Bartolis and me, standing together. You’ll have to add Jones to get the size of that guy! I shudder to think what will happen if this hulk wants to hurt my baby!”

Sarah rolled with laughter. She laughed until hiccups before she could utter:

“Sienna, your ‘baby’ is a 220 lbs. grown man with lightning-speed reflexes and the dexterity of a leopard. I think he is more than capable to stand up for himself!”

But Sienna refused to let it go.

“I’ll call Nicolas!”

Sarah snatched the phone from her friend’s hands and said:

“Have faith in him! He is a Ph.D., for chrissakes, he will outsmart any hulk, okay?”

Sienna boiled for a bit longer, then sighed and asked in a completely happy chirpy tone:

“So what’s the poison de soiree?”

Sarah gawked at her friend in complete amazement.

“How do you do it, seriously? One minute you are flipping hysterically, and the next you go happy as a clam!”

Sienna laughed.

“Well, I do it consciously. Since I’m very emotional and cannot go without living any emotions, instead of trying to stifle them inside, I just decide what I want to experience – the good or the bad emotions. When I decide that there is nothing to be done about a situation, I just stop fretting about it. And it makes me happy.”

Sarah rolled her eyes.

“Now that’s a trick worth learning!”

In about two hours, she dialed Sebastian.

“Hey baby, what’s up?” he asked in a cheerful voice. Sienna was dumbfounded.

“What’s up?! You tell me! Have you seen that guy?!”

“Yeah, that’s Joseph, my little bro, I told you about him. Turns out mom sent him after me; she was worrying for me because of that stupid dream. And since he is on vacation, he decided to drop by. Come home, I’ll introduce you…”

Sienna pouted.

“No. I’ll stay at Sarah’s!”

Jones distinctly sighed. A door closed, and the sounds changed as if he went outside.

“What’s wrong, my darling? Why are you so tense? It’s just my brother.”

Sienna inhaled full lungs of air and said tersely:

“Didn’t you think that we’d first have to discuss whether you should introduce me to your family? Maybe I don’t want to!”

There was a pause. Jones put on his soothing tone:

“May I ask why?”

Sienna felt out of her depth.

“Do I need to have a reason? I don’t want any personal questions, any assessing gazes, I don’t want to be weighed and appraised like a cow, and it’s inevitable with any relatives! Do you think I found an obscure university at the end of the world with a godawful au-paire job out of love for relatives? I could be now studying at Sorbonne if I chose to!”

Jones went silent for a minute, then sighed:

“Sorry for not being up to your standards. And you’re absolutely right, you have talents worth of Sorbonne.”

The girl was still sulking but she did not hang up. Neither did he. They were just staying silent until Jones said:

“Well, if you want to stay the night at Sarah’s, then could you please take a picture of the recipe and send it to me?”

The girl bit her lip.

“I’ll do you one better. I’ll send an e-mail along with what I gathered from my biology class. There are indeed some mild psychoactive ingredients in it…”

“All right. Thank you.” He paused. “And… Sienna… Whatever you decide, it’s up to you.”

She nodded, as if he could see her, and hung up.

At 3 a.m., wide awake, Sienna was tossing in the bed, trying not to wake up Sarah.

She sighed and took out her phone.

Typed: “ _R u sleeping?_ ”

The reply came very quickly: “ _Not anymore_.”

She grinned.

“ _Why aren’t u sleeping?_ ”

Reply: “ _Too happy to have enough free space in my bed_.”

“ _No orgy?_ ”

“ _They already left_.”

“ _Was it fun?_ ”

“ _Plenty_.”

“ _Women or men? Or both?_ ”

“ _I did not pay any attention_.”

She smiled tenderly.

“ _Will u come to get me home?_ ”

“ _B in 20_.”

She sighed happily and crept out of bed to gather her stuff.

The night was cold, but Sebastian stood, leaning on his car, wearing only his sweatpants and an unbuttoned plaid shirt. His glossy black hair was tousled more than usual. He was silently laughing with self-irony.

Sienna carefully closed the door behind her, heard a satisfying click, and paused on the porch to contemplate the scene illuminated by the street light.

She beamed at the man and finally jumped off the stairs to hurry to him and bury her face into his hot chest. She sighed with great relief, caressed him, and went to take her seat inside the car.

Sebastian climbed inside and drove them back to his house. Empty streets looked eerie under street lights, but it seemed that the whole town belonged to them.

Having parked his pickup, Sebastian mildly asked:

“Does Sarah know that you left?”

Sienna nodded vaguely.

“I left her a note.”

Jones shook his head.

“Ah, a note!”

The girl looked at him reproachfully.

“It wasn’t as brief as yours!”

He smiled and yawned.

“If you say so.”

When they arrived at the door, Sienna asked, trying to sound casual:

“Is your brother still there?”

Sebastian raised his brows ironically.

“You’re still eager to meet him…? No, he went to his hotel room. The coast is clear.”

Sienna smiled.

“I know I behave like a kid. But just give me some time, please…”

He shrugged his shoulders and pushed the door open.

“No rush.”

At last, they climbed into his still-warm bed, sighed with relish, and cuddled cozily in each other’s arms.

Sienna kissed the man on the lips and purred:

“I must be the happiest girl on Earth!” and instantly fell asleep.


	6. The Drink

THE DRINK

They decided to conduct the test with Jones on Friday, after all the routines were over, but there was no sense for Sienna in waiting for the weekend since she was not in danger.

After she played with Lorie and put the kid to bed, Nicolas brewed a fresh batch of the ‘divine tea’ and gave it to her. The smell was the same as all three of them remembered. Sebastian was staring at the brew apprehensively. He wasn’t happy remembering those events…

Sienna lipped the potion a bit anxiously and reminded Nicolas:

“You’ll try to hypnotize me after I feel the effect of the tea, okay?”

The vampire gently nodded.

“Of course. Would you like to choose a suggestion I should try on you?”

She scratched her head.

“Well, I don’t know…”

Sebastian scoffed.

“I know. Tell her to pay more attention to her studies, or she won’t go to Peru.”

Sienna flared:

“I know! But there is so much more to do in archaeology than to stare into old books!”

Jones winced. It was not the first time that they were having this argument.

“Ok, Lara Croft! Do you actually know that archaeology is not about climbing, jumping, and shooting? That it has more to do with research, lengthy studies, and preparations? With long hours of thinking, planning, and sifting through the dirt?”

Sienna made a funny face.

“Well, I was aware of it, but then I met you…”

Jones slapped himself on the head.

“So I am the culprit now?! Tell you what, Miss Richards, if you fail at Dr. Brian Gilbert’s test next week, I’ll pack your things and send you back to your merry bunch of vampires!”

Nicolas did not react, stoically waiting for their bickering to cease.

Sienna grew angry.

“You know what, I don’t have to answer to that! If you’re so in love with archaeology, then you can forget about me…!” she paused, suddenly startled. “Wait a minute…! I think that’s the effect… I wouldn’t say such a thing…”

She finished her drink and waited a few minutes, listening to herself. Then she nodded.

“Yes, that’s it. It angers me. That’s what it pushes to… No wonder the mayor has liver problems if he consumes it regularly…”

Jones and Nicolas did their best to observe the visual changes in the girl and agreed that her sclerae have become slightly jaundiced and skin looked dry.

Nicolas shook his head.

“That’s not much to go on with…”

Sebastian asked her to smile, and then to open her mouth.

“Her mimical muscles are unevenly tense and her tongue is dry…”

Nicolas frowned.

“Meaning she would want to drink… Sienna, are you thirsty?”

The girl shifted uncomfortably.

“A bit dry in the throat…”

Jones bit his lip.

“I remember that feeling… and I asked the assistant for a glass of water…”

Nicolas reassured him:

“If a human being feels the same, then this symptom was not viewed as suspicious by our Descendants…”

During the next half-hour, Sienna was diligently recounting them all her feelings and both researchers commented on them, trying to gather the most data and correctly interpret it. Nicolas took a sample of her blood and stored it for laboratory analysis.

“All right,” Sienna sighed. “Time for hypnotism… Do your best, Nicolas.”

The vampire sat very close to her, face to face, and looked her in the eyes. He paused momentarily, lost in her gentle gaze, then commanded her:

“Now, you will dial Sarah Osborne and tell her that you break up with her.”

Sienna instantly rebelled:

“Why would I tell such rubbish to my friend…?! Oh, it doesn’t work, does it?”

Nicolas nodded, a little put off.

“Yes. It doesn’t work.”

Sienna narrowed her eyes.

“And what if I did call her?!”

The vampire calmly answered:

“I would have taken over the phone and told her that you didn’t mean it and that it was an experiment.”

The girl shook her head disapprovingly but did not argue.

“So, you said that you never tried to hypnotize me before. Then we have to repeat the experiment when the effect of the drink wears off.”

Nicolas nodded.

“Agreed. I will think of something milder…”

The girl curved her brow much in the same way as Dr. Jones.

“Or you might just want to cancel the imperative when I dial her.”

The vampire smiled.

“Agreed.”


	7. Apples and Oranges

APPLES AND ORANGES

The bar was getting crowded, and Drogo had to nod to more and more people who recognized him. He was sitting alone at the table, rolling a red apple in his fingers.

A beautiful freshman he knew by sight smiled at him suggestively. He held her gaze and provocatively bit the apple, insolently staring at her. The girl blushed and turned her head away from him to face her friend, another cute freshman. The girls giggled.

Drogo swallowed the bit of the sweet juicy apple and gestured for them to join him at the table. Chortling, the girls accepted his invitation and gingerly approached him.

“And where is your girlfriend?” asked the second girl, eyeing him perkily.

Drogo smiled naughtily.

“Oh, she is unavailable tonight. Why, you wanted to see her?”

The girls giggled.

“No… Actually, we wanted to ask you about photography…”

The blond vampire’s smile was dazzling. He took a big bite from the crunchy apple and said:

“Oh, have a seat, and I’ll tell you all you want to know about it…”

He felt such longing for returning to that fateful day that he formed a sort of habit, whenever he felt upset, to close his eyes and walk through that day, starting by the morning. He knew it by heart, all their glances at each other, all their laughs, caresses, melodies, smells, and tastes, the warmth of their interaction…

After he had made love to Sienna at Jones’s house once he returned from the dead, he was never invited back, even if he still could walk her to and from the campus…

The two pretty freshmen he was now using for feeding and for sport, were none the wiser on what was happening to them, and it started to irritate him.

When his irritation reached its peak, he ordered the girls to remember certain things and forget about others, then chased them away, took a cigarette, and began reviewing newly made photos with the girls.

After an hour of deleting 90 percent of the pictures he sighed, exasperating. He should delete all of them, the useless third-grade junk!

He stared at his own picture made in bed covered with black sheets, the two naked girls lasciviously embracing him on both sides… Such a cliché! He looked himself in the eyes on the photo. He knew what his eyes in the picture were saying to the spectator: “Look at me! See? I’m doing great without you!” It reeked of despair and bad taste. He put it as a wallpaper on the screen to look himself in the eyes from time to time, deleted the rest of the pictures, and stood up.

He looked at his phone. He never called her, knowing full well that she would be talking to him with her eyes glued to Dr. Jones. The oddest thing was that he did not even hate the man. After everything that he had done for Drogo, the latter could not bring himself to so much as look the wrong way at the professor, feeling profound gratitude and respect for his big heart and nobility of spirit.

Drogo lived long enough to understand that such qualities were not easy to come by, and he was not above feeling grateful.

On the other hand, he never regretted having made love to Sienna. It was just beyond his control.

The whole situation made him feel powerless and caged, but he clung to the hope that he would be able to sort it through with the couple after the experiment with the vile potion would be over.

He looked at the bed in his studio. He felt the silk bedsheet gliding smoothly under his fingers like her skin. He could imagine hundreds of her poses in this bed, hundreds of emotions reflecting on her face… He wrapped his penis in the sheet and closed his eyes…

***

The Friday swiftly approached with the inevitability of a locomotive train, and Sienna felt more and more nervous. At the dance class, she gave Corrie free reign and contented herself with other partners. Her friend was obviously upset that they turned down her invitation to the Motorcat, but Sienna made her best to explain that they would take a raincheck and find something better the next time.

Drogo’s sportscar was idling at the entrance to the grounds, and the couple climbed inside.

Drogo swallowed the last of the pear he was gorging on, shook Jones’s hand, accepted Sienna’s kiss on the cheek, and her mockingly calling him a fruit bat.

“So, are we ready for the great unknown?” he asked ironically, his deceptively lazy gaze observing both people. Both were tense. “All right, hang on to uncle Drogo’s ride!”

And the engine revved wildly.


	8. The Brew

THE BREW

Just like with Sienna, they took Sebastian’s blood test and observed him for a while. Since on the previous occasion his transformation was delayed by approximately 12 hours, the Bartolis made sure his stay at the training room was as much comfortable as possible. They brought in the mattress that had been used for the jaguar, a table and chairs. The whole crew: Nicolas, Peter, and Drogo kept him company, and even Sienna was allowed to stay until the first signs of transformation.

Nicolas told her strictly:

“At the first sign, you leave this room or I’ll make you leave. Do you understand?”

She nodded and posed a sensible question:

“How long do you reckon the potion stays in the blood? Its effect on me hardly lasted 12 hours…”

Nicolas exchanged glances with Sebastian.

“We’ll have to figure that out through blood tests…” answered Jones, a little uneasy at the mention of blood in front of vampires.

Nicolas shook his head.

“Don’t worry, your blood doesn’t smell… edible, for some reason. I noticed it back when you were in your animal form since there was plenty of it everywhere, but it never triggered any reflexes in me…” he looked questioningly at his brothers, and they also shook their heads negatively.

Drogo winked at the professor:

“So, you are basically safer than the little thing with us.”

Sebastian cast the blond vampire a piercing threatening glare, but the latter demonstratively grinned and loudly crunched on an apple.

Nicolas sighed and shook his head.

“Sienna is perfectly safe with us, Sebastian. And, Drogo, don’t be ridiculous!”

The blond pest shrugged his shoulders and reached for a bottle of single-malt whiskey.

“Well, maybe I had to say that you were safer with us than the little thing was with Pete…”

This caused an angry bout from Nicolas. Peter simply stood up and left the room.

Sienna frowned at Drogo and exclaimed:

“Why did you say that?! This is so peevish!”

The blondie grinned at her, his eyes sparkling.

“Oh, sweetie, but I am the peevish brother here! And Pete’s the punching bag!”

The girl frowned.

“This is outright mean of you!”

Drogo shrugged his shoulders and looked at Nicolas with defiance in his gaze.

“That’s what expected of me, right, Nikkie?”

Nicolas sighed and did not deign to answer, visibly fed up with Drogo’s playing the mean clown.

Then he steered the conversation into a less combustible ground, and they stayed awake all through the night, Sienna having dozed off on the mattress.

She was awoken by a loud noise of a falling chair.

She jumped up, trying to focus her eyesight, and finally saw that Sebastian was heavily leaning on the tabletop and raspingly breathing.

“Get… Sienna… out!” he groaned, and Nicolas caught the girl in his arms in a matter of a second. Another second, and she was out of the room. The door was immediately bolted, and she could only guess at what was going on there by muffled sounds seeping from behind the heavy oaken boards.

She knew that the brothers’ plan was to reach the balcony and stay there to observe the felid’s behavior. There was half of a deer waiting for quenching the jaguar’s hunger, so there was no danger that he would start hunting the vampires, but still, Sienna felt her anxiety rising.

She felt a soft touch on her shoulder and turned to see Peter. He stood behind her with a cup of fragrant tea.

“Come, Sienna, you cannot do anything right now for them, so you might as well go rest, or, better still, let me take you for a walk…”

Sienna gratefully took the cup and thought it over.

“Well, if we are stuck for another 12 hours or so with the effect of this damned brew, let’s use this time to take Lorie wherever she wishes to go…”

Peter laughed softly.

“I’ll tell you where she would want to go! It’ll be the mortuary again!”

Sienna sighed.

“Then mortuary it be… I’d better go there than stay here worrying myself sick.”

The day stretched interminably long, and if not for Nicolas’s occasional text messages telling of the developments, Sienna would be restless and cranky.

But the mortuary, the aquarium, and a shopping mall kept the three of them busy well into the evening.

When they returned to the manor, there was still no change in Jones’ condition, so Sienna brewed some tea and went to prepare Lorie for sleep.

The little girl was very pleased with the day in her nanny’s and her brother’s company, so she displayed wonders of compliance and went to sleep without a single argument.

Upon closing the door to Lorie’s room, Sienna smiled, seeing Peter in the corridor, patiently holding her cup.

“Oh, thank you! I’ve totally forgotten about it!” the girl nodded gratefully and smiled at the musician. “Would you be so kind as to play for me?”

He grinned happily.

“Certainly! Follow me…”

He played for her well into the night, and when she dozed off on his bed, covered her with a blanket and carefully crawled to lay next to her, to breathe in the smells of her hair and skin and to feel the irradiating warmth of her body.

Sunday was there with its good weather and still no news from the locked room. Nicolas reported that the animal found how to get to the balcony by climbing a column and jumping onto the balustrade, but they managed to chase him off using flares. Now the animal was studying other possible exits.

Sienna grumbled discontentedly, dialed Sarah, and agreed to meet with her friend in the afternoon for a trip to the river. Meanwhile, she had breakfast, told Peter of her plans, and went to the Ayurvedic salon for her usual procedures.

Today, she was greeted by a new face. A rather young massage therapist, a robust gal with pronounced Irish roots.

Sienna smiled at her.

“How exotic! A redheaded Irish woman in an Ayurvedic parlor! Nice to meet you, I’m Sienna. Are you new here?”

The woman smiled easily.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m experienced enough to attend to your every wish, ma’am. My name’s Glenna. A very Ayurvedic name to be sure.”

They both giggled. Sienna broadly grinned.

“Oh, we’ll see, Glenna. I’ll have the usual ritual…”

The therapist dutifully nodded, eager to be of assistance to such a lovely client.

Sienna shed off her clothes and lay on her stomach on the massage table.

The therapist’s palms spreading oil on her skin were slightly trembling at first, but then her movements became more assured as she slipped into the habitual pattern.

“You are a bit tense,” the masseuse ventured, rubbing the girl’s shoulders.

“Oh, that’s why I asked for my usual ritual. Did you have a chance to look at your predecessor’s notes, Glenna?” she murmured calmly.

The young therapist blushed like a peony.

“Yes, I did, ma’am…”

Sienna giggled.

“Ma’am! Do I look so old to you? Please proceed, Glenna…”

Wonderfully relaxed, with lustrous skin and hair, Sienna was waiting for her friend at the boat station.

When Sarah made her appearance, the girls smiled at each other and hugged affectionately.

This time they did not stray too far, watching carefully the trajectory of their boat, but still had enough beautiful scenery around them to enjoy the drift.

Sienna looked at her friend and cleared her throat.

“You know, dear, we did not have an opportunity to talk things through lately…”

Sarah looked back and nodded, her eyes troubled.

Sienna continued:

“I feel it’s unfair that I got involved with Dr. Jones while you admitted to me that you liked him… After me snubbing your feelings in my regard it felt particularly… cruel…”

Sarah continued to watch her friend without any attempt at commenting, and Sienna went on:

“But by the time you told it to me, we were at a very… advanced stage, so there was no way I could pull myself away from that relationship without hurting him, and, truth be told, he has been suffering enough…”

Sarah frowned, gulped and replied, at last, her eyes shooting daggers:

“You know, it did hurt me very much! And, yes, it was very cruel to me! I do not even know where I stand with you, Sienna! Am I your friend or just a hotel room? I really like Dr. Jones, and his smile really got me thinking… But as far as I can gather now from what you let me know, he was just being polite with his girlfriend’s friend! You cannot fathom the humiliation I felt…! I was totally devastated…! You are always surrounded by men, and, frankly, I don’t think that you have any notion of female friendship…!”

Sienna tried not to laugh. In her world, ‘female friendship’ was a first-grade oxymoron, but she did her best to maintain a straight face, letting Sarah vent off her frustration.

She didn’t try to dissuade Osborne and just nodded when the latter’s enumeration of offenses closed to an end.

“Yes, I’m probably a bad friend,” she agreed and produced a few fresh sandwiches and a bottle of lemonade from her backpack. “But I will always listen to you, dear, even if you are mad at me. And, for the time being, I am officially notifying you that I do not have other relationships other than Dr. Jones and the Bartolis. So, the rest of the Mystic Spell is all yours!”

“Thank you for being so generous!” exclaimed Sarah sarcastically, still pouting. But she could not hold the pout for any much longer and giggled: “Now that’s a restriction! Only four men!”

Sienna proudly held up her chin and laughed merrily.

“Yep! Only four! The rest are all for grabs…! Speaking of relationships, there is a new massage therapist at the Ayurvedic salon. If you are still of a mind to date people, I’d suggest you take a look at her…”

Sarah rolled her eyes.

“Now you are being ridiculous playing the matchmaker!”

Both girls laughed, their relationship restored, and happily attacked their snack.

***

Both brothers watched incredulously as the jaguar paused, sitting on his hind legs before the window and then, in a blink of an eye, jumped at it, smashing the frame with his forehead.

Both vampires were so bewildered that a whole second passed before they gathered their wits and followed the animal.

“What’s with them smashing windows?!” grumbled Drogo, referring to Sienna’s jump from the chandelier, as he poked his head outside to get the jaguar’s bearings.

Nicolas ordered in a no-nonsense voice:

“Go after him, we’ll ask questions later!”

Drogo nodded and followed the felid through the window.

The animal wasn’t happy to be followed by a white predator but he was more interested in the woods than the mild two-legged threat, so he just growled a few times and headed for the forest.

The blond vampire cursed under his breath and followed the animal at a safe distance. There was no use in trying to attract the jaguar’s attention while he was so interested in his surroundings, so the only thing left was not to lose sight of him.

Nicolas joined Drogo, and they kept following the animal for the rest of the day…

***

The two girlfriends were merrily laughing as they were strolling down the quay when Sienna’s phone bleeped.

She checked the message. It was from Nicolas and it read:

“ _What made him turn the last time? He does not seem to want to return_.”

Sienna sighed, blushing. Last time she had to bare herself… She thought it over and typed:

“ _Try to play him_ Everybody knows _, find it on Youtube_ …”

Nicolas stared helplessly at the message.

“Youtube…?”

Drogo peeked at his brother’s screen and softly laughed.

“Ah, brother, you’re so out of date!”

He carefully removed his phone from his pocket, trying not to attract the jaguar’s attention, found the needed song, and put it on very quietly.

At first, the animal pricked his ears, alarmed, then he started to sniff the air and look around.

Drogo showed himself, standing calmly before the animal, and held the source of music in his outstretched hand.

“C’mon, professor, it’s time for you to transform,” he murmured quietly. “You’ve got classes tomorrow!”

Nicolas frowned.

“Very funny, Drogo!”

The animal shifted his glare to Nicolas and suddenly flattened his hears and snarled, gnashing fearsome fangs.

Drogo tried to divert his attention by making the sound louder, but the animal was furious.

The blond vampire, never leaving the jaguar’s sight, still managed to joke:

“Even a cat finds you irritating, bro…!” he licked his lips and added in a more serious tone: “Try to hide behind my back, he doesn’t seem to find me as irritating. And at the first opportunity make yourself scarce!”

The maneuver seemed to work but only before Nicolas tried to run. The jaguar lanced after him with the speed of a bullet.

Drogo cursed and darted after them, trying to divert the animal’s attention by hitting him in the side as he ran.

The jaguar was momentarily distracted, and it gave Nicolas the necessary seconds to escape. But now it was Drogo who became the object of the felid’s attention.

“Easy, kitty, let’s go to Sienna’s room! I bet you’ll like it there…”

The jaguar roared menacingly.

“Okay, I got it, you don’t like to be called ‘kitty’. Let’s get you home, ferocious professor!”

The animal pounced, and Drogo had a split-second advantage to move out of the angry felid’s way. Now he was running through the woods like wind, the huge angry jaguar at his heels.

The lengthy chase gave the vampire time to assess his chances. If only Sienna’s window was open! It would give him a slight possibility to escape and hope that the girl’s smells stall this death machine.

He dialed Nicolas.

“Open the window in Sienna’s bathroom and don’t let her come to the manor!” he pattered on the run and doubled his efforts to put some distance between him and the supernaturally swift animal.

But the jaguar was steadily gaining.

Drogo clenched his teeth, realizing that the chase was becoming no child’s game. He even felt the long-forgotten feeling of threat to his life. He knew that a jaguar’s signature method of killing was to bite through the skull with his enormous fangs, and he seriously doubted that even a vampire could survive this. His only hope was to get to the familiar grounds.

He reached the manor and was relieved to see the open main door. Fortunately, his brother was perspicacious.

Drogo zoomed inside and ran to the first floor straight toward Sienna’s room, hearing the animal’s breath on his back.

Never slowing down, once inside, he tossed the playing phone on her bed and darted into the bathroom, where he bolted the door and, without any hesitation, jumped out of the window, hearing an angry roar.

At this moment, Nicolas bolted the entrance to the girl’s bedroom and stepped back so as not to irritate the animal by his own presence.

Drogo joined him at the top of the stairs, the brothers exchanged tired and worried glances.

“What if he stays like this for another week?” whispered Drogo, frowning.

“Then we’ll have to supply him with meat and make sure his students are provided with a plausible story…” shrugged Nicolas, biting his lip.

Drogo sighed.

“Crap.”

“What’s crap?”

Peter silently approached them from the ground floor and looked at them inquiringly.

“Our professor does not wish to turn back to normal,” grumbled Drogo, crossing his arms at his chest.

Peter shook his head.

“Is this the potion’s effect?”

Nicolas made a vague gesture.

“We’ll know this only when he turns back.”

Peter asked:

“Where’s Sienna?”

Nicolas replied:

“I called her and asked not to return to the manor just yet. I assume she will go to her friend’s…”

***

The girls kissed each other on the cheeks, and Sienna smiled at her friend:

“Thanks for an awesome afternoon! I enjoyed it very much!”

“Me too!” replied Sarah eagerly. “Well, are you sure you are fine sleeping alone in an empty house?”

Sienna nodded and grinned.

“It’s not just a house. I’ll be all right, dear. Have a good night!”

And she opened the door to Jones’s house with her key.

***

A ticklish caress on her cheek made her lashes flutter. Someone was caressing her face and her hair. It was already light, and Sienna sighed, emerging into the waking world. She felt around for the one caressing her and found familiar warm skin over steel muscles.

She smiled and opened her eyes. She met Sebastian’s smiling gaze and hugged him by the neck, pulling him to her.

“Finally,” she murmured in a hoarse voice. “What took you so long?”

He scoffed.

“Been trashing your bedroom at the manor…”

She looked at him in surprise.

“My bedroom? What on earth have you been doing there?”

The man kissed her on the shoulder and rose from the bed.

“Long story. I’m not asking you what you’ve been doing in my bedroom, but I’m pleased to find you here…”

“So, I must be pleased that you trashed my room?”

He laughed and opened his wardrobe.

“We both need to attend the Myths and Legends class. It starts in an hour, so I’d suggest you hurry up.”

He took out fresh clothes and went to the shower.

Sienna sighed and stretched, feeling happy. She listened to him washing and asked loudly:

“Does it mean that you already ate?”

“Yes, baby, I’m still full with a deer…”

She sighed and shook her head. Some things were weird any way one looked at them…

“Are you still there?” he asked from the shower.

She replied “yes” and rose from the bed.

“How about a nice evening somewhere in town?” he asked as she was entering the bathroom.

“What do you have in mind?” the girl asked, sliding inside the shower cabin and hugging the man from behind.

He stroked her hands and enjoyed her caressing his six-pack, pectorals, and the line of hair running down from the navel.

“Some restaurant with a nice view, maybe, what do you say?”

She kissed his back and murmured:

“How about that beautiful terrace you took me to once?”

“Mmmm… Will you allow it to be a date?”

She giggled and asked, playing with his body:

“And what would be the difference?”

“You’ll have to see it for yourself.”

The girl sighed and pressed herself to his back.

“Oh, I don’t know… sounds… binding… But… oh, okay, since you insist…”


	9. The Date

THE DATE

Sarah was talking to Corrie when Sienna spotted them near the entrance to the main building. Both giggled and looked pleased with themselves.

“Hey, Sienna!” greeted her Corrie, grinning, no trace of the grudge for skipping the concert at the Motorcat.

Both girls exchanged conspiratorial glances, and Sarah told Sienna:

“Imagine that, we’ve been invited to participate in our University Monthly, there’s a Freshman’s Guide to compile, tips, and advice to collect and lots of other fun stuff to do!”

Sienna grinned and joked:

“Not to mention so many gossips to spread! I’m happy for you, guys! Just make sure that our dear miss Gautier does not get a whiff of this news or she’ll be the editor there soon!”

The girls’ faces fell. Corrie looked at Sarah with a worried expression:

“I’m a second-year, and I still hate that smarty pants! She could ruin any good idea!”

Sienna shrugged her shoulders.

“Then you should hurry and make yourself noticed!”

Sarah nodded.

“Yeah, that will be on top of our to-do list for the next week!”

Sienna nodded and took her friend by the elbow.

“And now, we have to hurry to our class!”

Corrie grinned and waved to them, heading to another building.

Today’s classes went in a blaze of Sarah’s dreams of success, her friend supporting her all the way but making sure they got never overheard by anyone from Samantha’s clique. And when the time came to part their ways, the girls hugged and kissed goodbye very affectionately. So that’s when Samantha’s poisonous tongue got at them.

“Aw, so now our campus slut switched to girls, I see! Beware, Osborne, your friend must have plenty of STDs!”

Out of the blue, Peter Bartoli materialized before them and quietly but firmly said to Samantha:

“If I hear you once again call Sienna a slut and I’ll make sure her boyfriend comes and sews your filthy mouth shut once and for all. You know he can do that, Samantha, so don’t push it!”

Samantha opened her mouth to retort, but Peter’s eyes glistened menacingly, as he added:

“You’ll never get rid of the scars,” and he quietly strolled away as if nothing happened.

Samantha glared at both girlfriends and stormed in the opposite direction.

Sarah sighed with relief, following Peter with her gaze:

“Sometimes it proves to be a good thing to have a few concerned chevaliers at your side!”

***

When Sienna stepped inside the house, she saw a trail of rose petals leading into the kitchen. She giggled and followed it, smiling.

A handful of fragrant strawberries met her at the kitchen table. She ate a few and went on, the trail leading her to the bedroom, where a flat box lay on the bed.

A magnificent set of underwear made the girl smile. A string of pearls added to the set made her nether lips palpitate, as it evoked an array of sensuous fantasies. In some ways, Sebastian knew her far better than Drogo. She always viewed diamonds as cold, hard stones, heartless bling. They suited better Drogo’s personality, and pearls suited hers.

Finally, petals led her to the balcony, where she found a small bottle with a single drop of liquid in it. “ _Drink it if you want to feel what I feel_ ”, said the label, and Sienna obeyed, smiling.

The drop warmed her and made her body feel liquid and flexible. It did not alter her perception but as if increased it in volume. All sounds became clearer, all colors brighter, and touch became more sensuous. She took great pleasure in the shower and putting on the underwear and clothes became almost orgasmic. Once she put on the last of her accessories, her phone rang, and Sebastian’s velvety voice asked:

“Are you ready?”

She smiled and breathed out “yes”, hoping that she would be able to resist him for five minutes.

“Then come down to the car.”

Sienna readily went down the stairs and out of the house. Sebastian was standing by the car, wearing a variation of the ‘casual James Bond’ style that made Sienna forget how to breathe.

She closed the door and carefully descended the porch, trying not to stare at the man for too long.

He grinned at her and ushered her to the passenger seat.

She asked him:

“What did I drink?”

Sebastian looked at her, smiling, and asked:

“How do you feel?”

The girl tried to find the right words.

“Warm… fluid… sensual… very clear…”

He smiled:

“That’s how I feel on an everyday basis, without any drops. This potion is an extract of my blood plasma and it emulates my state for a while. You’ll be feeling like I do for about 8 hours, unless you go to sleep, of course.”

Sienna looked at him in surprise.

“If this is how you feel, then how can you touch me without cumming? I, for one, am afraid of even looking at you for too long…”

He grinned.

“Years of training… Now, shall we?”

This time, the guided tour of the town was shorter, and they arrived at the terrace in good spirits.

Sienna was enjoying the view, the music, the food, and the witty conversation with her beloved professor.

Sometime later, she asked him, looking him straight in the eye:

“Tell me, would you give me this substance then, on the first time, if I had agreed to a date?”

Sebastian looked at her seriously and asked in return:

“Are you truly believing that I could do that to you? Or to anyone else? I am no date rapist. Even if it sounds callous, I don’t need to be. I gave it to you because by now you know who I am, you’ve seen all sides of me, and now I am getting you acquainted with how I feel.”

The girl smiled.

“Tomorrow, I will be envying you. Today, I am absolutely amazed.”

***

The next day started with heavy rain and Drogo’s car idling next to their porch.

The blond vampire lowered the glass and said cheerfully:

“My little thing gets a ride this morning. Sorry, professor, you’ll have to get to your jeep on your own.”

Sebastian simply shrugged his shoulders, understanding the situation, and nodded to Sienna.

“See you tonight…”

The girl nevertheless kissed him on the cheek and whispered:

“Thank you for the night, I was on cloud 9, still am…”

The man smiled at her:

“Just allow me to continue…”

The girl smiled brightly at him.

“Next is my turn…”

Drogo turned away to prevent them from seeing him frown. He was desperately fighting the yearning to participate in such intimacy…

***

The classes, the library, and the homework took up much more time than Sienna had initially anticipated, so she had to cut short her visit to Lorie in order to get home on time. Nicolas and Peter were not happy about it but understanding enough to let her go without complaints. Lorie was the only one really outspoken in her discontent.

“You are always on the run, that’s unfair!”

Sienna squatted down before the little girl and told her:

“I’ve spent my day off with you. Don’t you remember how we went to the mortuary, to the aquarium, and to the mall?”

Lorie pouted.

“But today, you’re running away!”

Nicolas lifted the little girl and nodded to Sienna.

“You may go, I’ll explain to her…”


	10. The Diamonds

THE DIAMONDS

The two men were sitting in the kitchen, sipping wine, and discussing their projects.

Upon returning home, the girl was very much surprised at seeing Drogo casually conversing with the professor and tracing something on a map before them. She joined them, took a glass proffered by Sebastian, and made herself comfortable on a chair in front of him.

Sebastian delightedly recounted all details of his preparation for the expedition. Sienna even started to wonder what he wanted more, to conduct the expedition, or to freely roam the jungle. Respecting his wish not to be called ‘kitty’ she didn’t call him that aloud but she could not deny herself to stare at him endearingly.

She could feel Drogo’s gaze on her and it sent shivers down her spine. He never asked her to be alone with him after he appropriated her here in Sebastian’s house, but she could now feel that he was lying in wait like a predator, watching her every move, observing her. Once Jones finished his story, Drogo said, his eyes still on the girl:

“I have this idea of a new photoshoot, but I will need Sienna to help me realize it… And I’m warning you, it will be smoldering hot!”

Sienna affectionately smiled at him:

“All your ideas are smoldering hot! I’d be delighted to help you create something as beautiful as only you can do.”

Sebastian curved his brow and narrowed his eyes.

“I cannot say that I’m thrilled, but if it results in another masterpiece, then go ahead…”

Drogo looked at him with a cryptic gaze.

“C’mon, say it. You know that I will have sex with her on the set, but you cannot forbid her to do whatever she wants.”

Sebastian’s nostrils flared and pupils slightly dilated. Then he suddenly smiled and answered:

“That’s what I said. I would strangle you for sleeping with her, but it would upset her.”

They both laughed bitterly.

“At least we’re on the same page now,” snickered Drogo.

Sienna stood up to take a new wine bottle and said without any animosity:

“Oh, it’s so good to hear you studs talking about me as if I wasn’t here! And since you’re getting so well together, maybe you will do that photoshoot on your own, without me?”

Sebastian caught her and pulled against his torso.

“Don’t get angry at us, baby, we are talking about you in this way because you are taboo. You excite such powerful feelings that we wouldn’t be able to continue this conversation if we were referring directly to you.”

Drogo grinned.

“Yeah, Jones is right, sort of. Such conversation style prevents us from ravishing you here on this kitchen table, and helps us appear civilized.”

The three of them burst with laughter. The girl waved her hands, surrendering.

“I get it, I get it, you are just warming up, I guess!”

Drogo nodded.

“Exactly.”

Both men in front of her were laughing, drinking, and having a good time, but she could feel their expectative gazes lingering on her, or sliding down her curves, caressing her features and inquisitively trying to pierce through her clothes. The atmosphere was almost palpable. They all already knew how it could be, and the anticipation made their eyes glisten hungrily.

The kitchen timer finally chimed, and Sebastian opened the oven to put the casserole on the table. The ragout smelled divine, and the men’s lust was momentarily put on hold.

Drogo moaned ecstatically, smelling the dish:

“Man, you are a magician!”

Sienna looked at him askance with a little apprehension and mumbled:

“Drogo, you are making me nervous. I still cannot understand what you are…”

He laughed.

“Don’t worry, I still drink blood, if that’s what concerned you. And I can still outrun a jaguar,” he winked at Jones, handing him his plate.

Sienna turned to Sebastian.

“Maybe you will explain at last what you did to this regular bloodsucker??”

He sighed, gave Drogo back his plate with steaming ragout, and poured more wine into their glasses.

“I don’t think it’s a table conversation. I will tell you what I gathered, but don’t expect all the answers from me.”

He put a full plate in front of Sienna and raised his glass.

“To life, in all its iterations.”

All three toasted in agreement and attacked the delicious meal.

Sienna and Drogo were sitting in the living room, listening to the splashing shower, and never bothering to maintain a conversation. They were just attuned to each other so that there was no need for words. Drogo felt relaxed and contented. He was lounging on the sofa, his eyes closed, a hint of healthy blush on his cheeks.

An odd thought occurred to Sienna, and she had to ask aloud:

“Do you still see that monster on your photos?”

Drogo negatively shook his head, without opening his eyes.

“No, sweetness. I see me,” his voice was soft and quiet.

Somehow this news made Sienna happy.

“I’m glad.”

The water stopped running, and soon Sebastian came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his hips. He stood in the doorway, pensively looking at the girl. Then he slyly smiled:

“A movie night?”

The girl beamed:

“Yes! The Umbrella Corporation!”

Jones shook his head.

“How many times did you watch that?”

Sienna shrugged her shoulders.

“They’ve got a great soundtrack, awesome chemistry, witty dialogues, interesting storyline, and an amazing dance scene!”

Sebastian checked Drogo’s reaction and, having seen the latter’s nod, went to put on pants and a shirt, switched on the kettle, and chose Netflix on the TV set.

Having prepared tea and having put the tray on the wobbly coffee table, he settled on the sofa next to Sienna and on the other side from Drogo.

The girl leaned onto him, and he hugged her. Then she put her legs in Drogo’s lap and sighed contentedly.

As the opening credits started to play, she felt Drogo’s hands covering her shins, the naked parts between her socks and the hem of her sweatpants.

Sebastian was lazily playing with her hair.

All in all, it was a great night.

The morning sun shone through the makeshift curtain in the meditation room, and Drogo was wondering when its ray was going to reach Sienna’s eyes and make her squirm in her sleep and turn to him.

Sebastian was sprawling on the other side from Sienna, fast asleep, shamelessly displaying his gorgeous torso and an impressive tool barely hidden in his boxers.

A night in the same bed with Sienna, even without loving her, remarkably did not feel like a waste of time, as he would have thought earlier, but instead, it brought a new sense of complicity and tenderness. It felt like _living_ with her again, seeing her not as the hot babe desired by every other male but a living girl, a gentle person, the one that came out of a taxi and went to knock on their door, abandoning her suitcases on the road.

He smiled, remembering her funny quirk of not being able to fall asleep if she was wearing socks, even if she was cold and warm socks would seem like a sound remedy.

Oh, he could tell many things about her! She could eat one sort of food for a week, and then abandon it in favor of something else. She could appear to be a vegetarian only to crash people’s illusion of her by ordering a huge steak and a glass of whiskey if it stroke her fancy. She hated coffee with milk but sometimes drank it just to be sure that she still did not like it. She loved staring at him through the mirror, him standing behind her. It turned her on like crazy. She equally loved music, dance, and visual stimulation, but her real passion was rites in different cultures and daily lifestyles of people long gone. She preferred to buy matching underwear, but ended up mismatching the sets…

The ray of sunlight finally crept onto her face, and she predictably wrinkled her nose and turned to him, her hand finding its way to his side and then to his back, embracing him barely consciously.

Drogo hugged her, put his head above hers on the pillow, and closed his eyes. He could sleep a bit longer.

Sebastian opened his eyes and turned away from the sun. Two bushes of blond hair lying on the other pillow made him think of siblings. Incestual siblings. He smiled. Myths were full of couples like this one. Threesomes were much less widespread. He sighed and looked at the time. The alarm would start in ten minutes. He crept out of bed, picked up his pants off the floor, and went downstairs for his morning routines.

In an hour he returned to check on Sienna and saw them quietly conversing in bed, reminding him again of incestual twins.

He knocked on the doorframe, attracting their attention, and said:

“I will be busy until late at night, so you guys are on your own. Please stay out of trouble.”

He wanted to leave, but Sienna jumped out of bed and came close to him.

“Please come back as soon as you can!” she hugged him and kissed on the chin.

Trying not to think of her warm sleepy body trustingly clinging to him, Sebastian nodded, looked at Drogo, nodded to the latter, and went to his bedroom to find fresh clothes.

The vampire stood up and stretched.

“All right, little thing. Are you ready for the photoshoot?”

The only not black fabric on the set was her red dress, the rest: the sheets, Drogo’s leather pants, and his silk shirt were the same shade of blacker-than-black. The only jewels were his massive archer’s silver ring and Sienna’s diamond pendant earrings. The only thing white was their alabaster skin.

Drogo set timers on all three cameras and approached Sienna.

“Your main camera and your focus are there, you can check how you look in the mirror behind the camera, we will be interacting with that mirror. The cameras are set on automatic, plus I have an additional clicker, so if you move in a moderate tempo, everything will be well captured.”

She turned to him.

“What’s the story this time?”

He smirked.

“Clandestine lovers. Something forbidden. Bondage, restriction.”

The girl closed her eyes to let his images seep through, then nodded.

“All right.”

At first, it was a delicate dance of seduction, then denial and frustration, then restriction, and then steamy pornography. And at last, it ended with resignation and acceptance.

Sienna sighed.

“I’m sure that you’ll end up doing something decent out of it. But are you sure you should keep the whole batch? I wouldn’t want to see my pussy with your dick in it plastered all over porn sites…”

Drogo sighed, his eyes suddenly becoming dark.

“I’m just trying to keep you with me, my sweetness… Pictures last longer…”

He pressed her body to his and kissed her on the mouth.

“I promise your pussy is safe with me,” but he couldn’t resist his trickster side and added: “At least Nicolas will have to pay to see it…”

Sienna hit him in the bicep with her fist and went to the desktop computer to take a look at the pictures.

When the screensaver revealed the wallpaper beneath it, Sienna studied it for a long time and then whispered:

“There is so much pain in your eyes...”

Drogo approached and bent forward behind her shoulder. He whispered in her ear:

“That’s what you love in me – my pain, don’t you?”

The girl shook her head and turned to face him.

“I…”

“Don’t answer me.”

He covered her lips with his mouth, then followed the line of her jugular vein with his tongue, involuntarily baring his long teeth, then squeezed her breasts and lightly bit one of them without drawing blood.

Then he, without a word, lifted her and returned to the bed, their bodies stark-white against the total blackness.

She was looking at his face in the photos and feeling enchanted by his expressions.

“You do love me. With such passion and abandon. And painful pleasure. I could watch these images forever. Oh, and this one…! I want to feel this again! I think you should keep them – they’ll remind you of me, and me – of you.”

She selected one of the most intense pictures and asked him, slyly smiling:

“Could you send it to me on the phone when I’m at Jones’s class? This way I will be less disruptive for him, and I will remember this moment…”

Drogo kissed her and grinned:

“Oh, I’ll do that. I can send you one of these at each of your Myths and Legends classes… However, I’m thinking about inviting Jones to join us here. The look on your face when you gaze at him is incomparable…”

Sienna stared at him, mildly surprised.

“You brought me here to be alone with me, and now you want to invite Sebastian?”

Drogo smiled sadly.

“I’ve had my little personal moment. It could never satisfy me, but at least my head has cleared enough that I started to think of what’s best for photography.”

Sienna sighed.

“So be it. He said though that he will be busy until late…”

The vampire sighed.

“I have a hunch that it was his way of giving us private time…”

Sienna moaned pitifully.

“My poor men…” she sniffled, rolled her head back not to let her eyes get wet, then asked: “Do you have something to eat?”

Drogo laughed and kissed her.

“Do you know that models do not eat?”

“Drogo!!!”

“I have fruit…”

The girl laughed.

“Fruit bat!”

Predictably, Jones showed up soon enough. He looked iconic in his well-tailored black coat but winced when Drogo started taking pictures of him.

“Drogo, I sincerely hope that none of this gets outside this room, and I hope you get it.”

The vampire nodded.

“Only your body, without the head, I get it. But for now, while you are clothed, I’d like to take a few general shots, you look stylish…”

Jones sighed, resigned.

“Whatever.”

He took a glance at Sienna. She was sitting in front of the mirror in a silk robe, combing her hair and watching the men through it.

“Have you eaten, baby?” she asked him tenderly, as he touched her shoulder.

He shook his head.

“Didn’t have time…”

Drogo sighed.

“Guys, I promise I will invite you to the best restaurant afterwards, just don’t spoil shots now!”

Sienna turned to him.

“Do you realize that with your fastidiousness it will be breakfast time when we get a chance to eat?”

Drogo sneered.

“La Serenata chef owes me big time, he will be more than pleased to cater to our every whim at any time of day or night.”

Jones shook his head.

“I shudder to think of the nature of your dealings, Drogo.”

The vampire grinned.

“Oh, but I wouldn’t be me if I played by the rules…! Now, sweetness, I want at last that shot with the black diamond choker.”

She smirked.

“The one you’ve been talking about for a few months now?”

“The one where you wear nothing else.”

She sighed.

“I got it the first time, and gazillion other times that you’ve been talking about it.”

Drogo smiled cryptically, switched on the music for the blindfold dance, and took a silver velvet box out of the safe. He watched with satisfaction how the girl’s eyes glazed dreamily at the first notes of the melody and how Sebastian’s composure softened, his handsome face taking on an open, vulnerable quality. This dance did mean a lot to them. Disregarding Jones’s warning, Drogo made a few discreet shots of their faces, then opened the box and put the choker on the girl’s neck. She looked at herself in the mirror and did nothing to stop Drogo from sliding the robe from her shoulders.

Both men stared at her in the mirror while she was contemplating herself in disbelief. The reflected image spellbound all of them.

Drogo, now almost merging with the background, softly whispered in Sebastian’s ear:

“Stand behind her and caress her shoulder.”

Her silky white skin contrasting with the coarse fabric of the black coat, Sienna was feeling Sebastian’s burning fingers and her own cheeks burn. The music, with its association to their dance, was turning her on with the inevitability of approaching night.

Drogo gave Jones a red apple and indicated that he should offer it to her. Then he whispered to Sienna:

“Kiss the apple.”

The sensuality of the moment made the girl press her thighs together and slightly tremble.

Their shots proceeded further, with Sebastian getting less and less dressed, with Drogo replacing him when his head was too visible in the shot, then they both took full possession of Sienna’s body, and finally, the looped musical composition released them from the built-up arousal. The girl was on the verge of consciousness, the intense rapture in the arms of her beloved men transporting her into nirvana, if nirvana could be a state of a continuous explosion of ecstasy.

They came more or less back to their senses at lunchtime the next day.

“Remind me next time not to conduct such marathons during the workweek!” sighed Jones, disentangling himself from Sienna and Drogo. “I’ve missed a meeting with the logistics office…”

Drogo’s laugh was full of mirth.

“So, your day is ruined. Might as well enjoy the rest of it.”

Sebastian nonchalantly nodded.

“Agreed.”

The blond vampire shook his head in disbelief.

“I thought I would never tell this, but… I’m spent. And would never think it possible for a mortal man to have such stamina… But here we are…”

Jones shrugged his shoulders.

“It was not always like this…”

Sienna stretched sweetly and moaned:

“Guys, can someone switch off the music? Or I swear you’ll be here for one more round, even if it will rub me raw!”

Drogo stood up in one supple move, switched off the mix, and said in a slightly worried tone:

“Guys, I’m getting hungry, and not in a good way. Let’s get a shower and move on to the restaurant. My dear chef will help me with more than one task…”

***

The campus was again abuzz with the new issue of the Fashion Monthly.

Students were gawking at Sienna and Drogo entering the main building.

Samantha was caught staring at the ad, livid with envy.

While passing her, Sienna laughed:

“Ah, I’m glad you like it, that’s my post-coital face…”

Drogo scoffed and winked at Samantha, while affectionately rubbing Sienna’s shoulder. Then he leaned to his lover and whispered in her ear: “You’re becoming quite cheeky, little thing!”

Sienna shrugged her shoulders.

“It was a preemptive strike. I was afraid that if she said something nasty, you’d do something much worse to her…”

The blond vampire laughed.

“Don’t tell me you care about her well-being!”

“Not particularly. But I do care for yours!”

***

Jones was relieved that the shot that finally made it to the print did not have any of his distinguishable features, plus it was heavily photoshopped, and yet he had the impression that no one had any doubts as to the identity of the second man in the picture. He could read it in people’s glances, but, luckily, they had nothing more to go on with, and it suited him.

Being practical by nature and very busy with the expedition preparations, Sebastian let the case rest as soon as he understood that there was no imminent direct danger to his career.

When his students cast him dazzled gazes during his lectures, he simply accepted it graciously, as always, and ignored insinuating comments. He was there to teach them, not to cater to their base traits.

But he had to admit that questions like: “How was it, Dr. Jones?” always made him want to smile a private contented smile. He would then reply something along the lines of:

“I know, my personal life fascinates you more than the destiny of the Inca empire, but please remember that I will not grade you based on your witty remarks.”

It would usually result in general laughter, and the issue would be closed.

But today, Samantha went out of her way to pester him:

“And what does the University administration say about your extra-curricular activities, professor? Does it approve of all these naked dances with one of your students?”

Dr. Jones did not appreciate her getting out of line. He frowned and asked her gravely:

“Please be more specific, miss Gautier. What naked dances are you talking about?”

The audience fell silent, eager to see how things would unfold. Samantha slightly blushed but answered all the same in a challenging manner:

“This tasteless saucy ad for Drogo’s garish jewelry line, starring your pet Sienna Richards! Don’t say that the second guy in the picture is not you!”

Unexpectedly, Dr. Jones began laughing. He laughed for so long that Samantha started feeling inadequate. Having calmed down, Jones looked at his student and asked her merrily:

“Wow, miss Gautier…! Bravo… Have you ever seen me naked, miss Gautier?”

Many students’ gazes started traveling along their professor’s body, obviously interested in the idea.

Samantha’s brows went up to her hairline, and she blushed like a beetroot.

“What… what are you… insinuating, Dr. Jones?!”

Sebastian charmingly smiled and answered her:

“You must have a really intimate knowledge of my body to be able to recognize it based on a blurred and photoshopped photo in a fashion magazine. Or maybe you are just seeing me everywhere?”

Samantha burst in tears and ran out of class. It was the last time when someone dared breach this subject with professor Jones.

***

It was late afternoon, and Sebastian was sitting in his office, engrossed in students’ papers, when a knock on the door startled him.

After his usual: “It’s open, come in,” he saw the wrinkled face of the dean peeking in.

He started to rise, but the dean cackled and impatiently waved his hand, entering.

“Just passing by, Dr. Jones,” he said peacefully shuffling into the room. He looked around and nodded approvingly. “Nice office…” Then he saw the framed photo on the wall and came closer. He even put on his glasses to study it in more detail. Nodded approvingly several times and cackled good-naturedly again.

“I saw that video…” he said to Jones, turning to him and pointing the photo with his index finger. “Absolutely amazing…! As they say, ‘A gifted person is good at everything.’”

He turned again to the picture and shook his head in admiration.

“Remarkable! Absolutely remarkable!”

Sebastian tried not to frown, waiting for what was to come.

But the dean was in no hurry to continue, so Jones responded to fill the pause:

“Thank you, Dr. Furnham, your praise is very flattering.”

The dean cast a mild look at Sebastian above his glasses and cracked into a grin.

“This girl is pure gold, isn’t she?”

Sebastian frowned and sighed.

“She’s quite a handful, to be sure…”

The dean cackled delightedly.

“Oh, I’m sure of it! She reminds me a little of my second wife, Cassie. She was also a student of mine and trouble incarnated. I’ve spent with her the best years of my life…” his voice broke, suddenly taking on a distressed note. The dean cleared his throat and took on a lighter tone: “Treasure her, Dr. Jones, it’s hard to come by such sunshine these days…”

Sebastian made a sharp gesture, ready to protest, but the dean dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

“Appearances, appearances… I would never think that this Drogo character is such a decent chap. Makes a good job of it too…! But it’s all in here…” he turned again to the picture and stared at it almost longingly. “No one, however professional, would have such complete and intimate trust in a mere dance partner. No one else would be able to create such perfection with such abandon…”

He nodded to Jones and shuffled to the door. Having touched the handle, he turned again to the man.

“Almost forgot, the bureaucratic stage of your trip is over, the funds are secured, you may start as well recruiting your crew, Dr. Jones. Good luck with your expedition.”

And he was off, leaving Sebastian both tense and relieved.


	11. The Tears of Blood

THE TEARS OF BLOOD

Sarah was biting her nails at the entrance to the campus. After she won over a fraction of trust with the Bartolis in that insane story with poachers and after the long conversation with Sienna on the boat, she felt like their relationship with Sienna was back on track, but her friend was still reluctant to chitchat in the cafeteria about her everyday life. Her friend was expressing gratitude to Sarah at every possible occasion but still did not share anything specific. This irritated Sarah and made her suspicious.

Finally, her friend came accompanied by Drogo, as usual. These last weeks, the latter seemed to Sarah changed in some profound way. He looked calmer and less outspoken, had a healthy, if a bit pale, skin color, and he openly ate food! That was the most stunning change. When Sarah saw him crunching on an apple, she thought she was dreaming. In her family archives, there was not a shred of information on vampires eating fruit, and the young Osborne witch was completely at a loss. When she asked Sienna about it, her friend assured her that she was gobsmacked as well, and they both couldn’t come up with any plausible explanation of the phenomenon.

Sienna beamed at her.

“Let’s go to the library! There are untold treasures waiting for us!”

Pleasantly surprised by such a turn, Sarah smiled.

“Of course!”

Unable to hold it any longer, Sienna spilled her beans to Sarah as soon as they entered the library.

“You know, I’ve been intrigued by something for a long time now… Do you remember a book we read at the beginning of the year, by Fernando Montesinos? He was telling about many things, but one of them was about a ruler, Yahuar Vakak, or Tears of Blood…”

Sarah stared at her friend, waiting for the continuation.

“…Then I witnessed… Lorie crying with bloody tears…” Sienna went on, covering for Drogo, as usual. “Turned out all vampires cry like that… So, I’ve been curious about the origins of this Yahuar Vakak. Nicolas told me that Transylvania wasn’t the only place of origin for their kind, but he could not tell me anything more precise because his lineage stems from the Transylvanian root. The only thing he recalls Vittore saying is that ‘the world is larger and more ancient than we know, beware of those who walk it since the times immemorial.’ He also hinted that the reason why there are so few European-type vampires in the Americas is that there are some native species… Since I saw an image of Tezcatlipoca in Sebastian’s… room it has been nagging at me. I feel there is some connection between the Inca rulers and those elusive ‘native species.’ But I need something more substantiate than my hunch before I go pester our professor.”

Naturally, she omitted the mention of the ritual and the wake where both Nicolas and she saw the same vision of Tezcatlipoca. She felt that her precious shapeshifter held the key to this mystery but she wanted to find some proof before confronting him.

Sarah’s gaze roamed pensively, never seeing the library walls and shelves.

“That’s… interesting…” she said at last. “But I doubt you’ll find anything useful in a regular library…”

Sienna looked at her friend with excitement.

“Are you saying there are other kinds of libraries?”

Sarah sighed.

“It’s not so much as a ‘library’ per se… My family holds a lot of books on supernatural, so… All right, let’s go to my home…”

Sienna grinned happily.

“Yay!”

The sun was already setting, and Sarah went to switch on the lights. Both girls now looked not as enthusiastic as at the beginning of their quest.

Sienna sighed.

“Why did they write in such convoluted terms back then? I’ve spent more time understanding what’s written than actually obtaining any information!”

Her friend shrugged her shoulders and stretched.

“That’s old writings for you. My dad has been spending years on re-writing, translating, and systematizing this collection but he’s done only a fraction of it so far. Next year, I’ll take the Middle English, French and German courses, I hope it will help me make sense of all this stuff…”

Sienna frowned.

“Um… correct me if I’m wrong, but the best chance we have at finding something is by looking through Hispanic writers, right?”

Her friend nodded.

Sienna continued.

“Then we went the wrong way. Let’s see…” she perused through the section of Spanish titles. “Your dad didn’t have a chance to put these in order yet… Now that’s a treasure!”

She selected a few titles and showed them to her friend.

“Can I borrow them until tomorrow? I bet your dad will not see anything missing and I swear I will return them!”

Her friend had no choice but to agree. They put together a list of borrowed items, and Sienna hurried to the Bartoli mansion.

Late in the same evening, after returning from the mansion, Sienna entered the kitchen to find Sebastian and Drogo engrossed in maps and satellite shots. The picture was so peaceful that the girl smiled.

“To see you both not trying to kill each other is so endearing!”

They both raised their heads and grinned at her. She hurried to them and kissed both men on the lips. They answered to her but were uncharacteristically more interested in their task than in her.

“I see here a path, probably an animal path…” murmured Sebastian, pointing to an area on the satellite shot. “We could use it to get to this point…”

Very content with this calm working atmosphere, Sienna went to take a shower.

When she came out of it, the men were collecting their papers, both looking very pleased.

Drogo merrily looked at Sienna and grinned:

“So, are you ready to go to Peru, little thing?”

The girl’s eyes widened.

“What are you talking about?!”

Drogo exchanged glances with Sebastian, the latter nodded to him, and Drogo answered:

“I have insider information that both you and I are on the list…”

Sienna squealed and jumped at his neck:

“Oh-my-God-oh-my-God-oh-my-God!!! This is incredible!!!” she looked at the grinning Sebastian and jumped at his neck too.

She kissed him passionately, then looked into his laughing eyes.

“This is incredible!!! I’m so excited!!! How do you know so soon? The panel, have they already made their decision?!”

Jones laughed and eased out of her grasp. Not because he wanted to, but because the girl’s enthusiasm was very contagious.

“Calm down, sharpshooter! I’ve spoken with the head, and he confirmed that you had the best grades in your class, and Drogo… well… he has the best family influence. Anyhow, we are all going!”

Drogo, greatly amused by the girl’s zeal, passed the remaining papers to Sebastian and went to pour some tea for Sienna.

“Here, little thing. Just breathe!”

The girl grinned at him, kissed him, and took the cup.

“I will be unable to sleep!”

Sebastian softly smiled at her and murmured:

“I sincerely hope that you will. Tomorrow, we will make the official announcement.”

The girl stirred.

“And who else will be going?”

Jones hesitated.

“From those you know…? Joffrey Stokes, Kevin Andrews, and… uh… Samantha Gautier. I know that you’re not on the best terms, but I hope you will be able to stay civilized…”

Sienna smacked her forehead.

“This is a nightmare…! But why not Sarah Osborne?! She will be devastated…!”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders.

“As I’ve said, the panel chose based on grades and overall performance. Your friend was not as… enthusiastic as you were…”

Sienna shook her head, frowning.

“But a witch would be definitely more useful in the jungle than Samantha…”

Jones frowned at the mere memory of the circumstances when he learned of Sarah’s abilities, so he shuddered and sighed:

“Well, I wasn’t the one to choose…”

Sienna looked him in the eyes.

“But you were the one giving recommendations! Is there anything, maybe some last test that could give Sarah a boost?”

Sebastian shrugged.

“Are you asking me to tip the balance?”

“I’m asking you to be sensible about the staffing issue. It’s not rancor that you want to have during the time spent in the jungle, but cooperation, goodwill, and the best possible security.”

Bewildered, Sebastian looked at Drogo. The latter rolled with laughter.

“Don’t look at me, professor! I’m just an innocent bystander!”

Jones shook his head and asked the vampire:

“Are you sure you hired a 20-year-old girl with no special powers? ‘Cause it doesn’t feel that way! This manipulative and eloquent being is a danger to society!”

Sienna burst out giggling.

“But that’s only a reasonable approach!”

Sebastian moaned and went to open his laptop.

“All right, I will propose a teambuilding test to the panel…”

After her initial excitement subsided, Sienna took out a stack of notes written by Nicolas earlier that evening while she was playing with Lorie. The eldest brother quickly found the pertaining information in the Spanish volumes and compiled a synopsis with references to the sources.

Refreshing her memory, the girl marveled again at the speed and quality of his work.

Now, she could talk to the professor.

She looked at both men.

Now they were just minding their own business, Drogo studying some photos on his laptop and Sebastian making some calculations on the map.

Sienna cleared her throat and nudged the professor gently.

“Yes, my baby?” he smiled, curiously studying the stack of papers in her hand.

The girl placed a hand on his shoulder and began:

“Do you remember I asked you about Yahuar Vakak?” he nodded, and she continued, “I found out that in many Mesoamerican languages ‘yahuar’ or ‘jaguar’ means ‘blood’ or ‘of blood’ so I can only surmise that there is not only a link between the Tears of Blood and vampires, but also a link between… well… jaguars and vampires. You did something to Drogo that gave him the ability to eat food, become warm, and see himself in the mirror as a person, not a monster. There is a huge Tezcatlipoca image in your bedroom. I think all of this is somehow connected. Are you a Tezcatlipoca priest or some such? How are you connected to vampires? I remember Nicolas saying that your blood has no appeal to them. In these Hispanic records, they say that jaguars supposedly have the ability to cross between worlds, that they were held sacred. Being cursed creatures, vampires cannot consume what is sacred, right? Then how come the ruler was crying bloody tears like a cursed creature? I can feel there is an explanation to this mystery! Please help me understand!”

Sebastian listened to her, smiling; Drogo dropped what he was doing and listened attentively to the girl.

The professor chuckled contentedly when she fell silent.

“You’ve got a good hunch, Miss Richards. My kind is indeed the sacred animal of Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror, but there is nothing more to it. However, do not lump together Aztec deities and their Inca counterparts if you want to solve the mystery of Yahuar Vakak. And don’t ask me what I did to Drogo. Such things cannot be told casually and on the fly to laymen. I’m sure the right moment will present itself, but until then, I congratulate you on a good lead and wish you to keep up the good work.”

Sienna tossed her head back in frustration and groaned.

“The fresco misled me! I knew it! What am I missing here?!”

Drogo stood up and eased the wad of papers from her hand.

“Maybe you are missing supper, little thing?”

The girl sighed and glared at the unperturbable professor.

“Stop looking so glib, I know I have to dig further!”

Both men laughed.

Sebastian stood up and went to switch on the stove.

“C’mon! If you want to be like Lara Croft, you need to develop her tenacity!” he grinned, putting the lasagna leftovers into the stove to warm it up. “And, since we are going to Peru, I’d suggest you do some research on their local deities as well…”

He didn’t finish talking when the bowl of flour he wanted to put away jumped out of his hand and scattered the fine powder all over the kitchen floor.

Sebastian frowned and his face became very concerned. Obviously, he didn’t view this as an accident. Drogo, seeing his reaction, didn’t even try to say anything acerbic. The professor just sighed and silently went to take a rag to wipe the floor. Sienna quietly observed both men, feeling that their reaction contained something yet unexplainable to her.

She watched the master of the house cleaning up and sighed.

“Here you are, a man of flesh and blood, with personal traits and normal parents… And yet you know so much more…”

Sebastian stopped mopping the floor, straightened up, put the girl on the table and looked her in the eyes with a very serious expression:

“Knowing things hasn’t much value if it’s not applied to living. There is the whole World in you, don’t you know it? The stars, the sky, the rivers and lands, animals and birds… everything is there…”

They kissed, and Drogo unexpectedly saw an ancient ruler or priest clothed in bright feathers, his skin painted black and yellow. He was kissing what could only be described as a rainbow over a mountainous forest. Unsettled, Drogo blinked and saw his friends kissing: Sienna, sitting on the table in her skinny jeans and the University sweater, and Sebastian in his old grey sweatpants and white tee with a stretched neckline.

As if on cue, Sienna and Sebastian pulled him toward them and began kissing him from both sides. He felt showered with so much love he suddenly felt unprepared for it and gasped, gulping air.

They kissed him lower and lower, removing his clothes as they went, two pairs of hands petting him everywhere they could reach, electrifying his skin. He wasn’t expecting what was happening to him and all he could do was to softly moan and open up to receive the caresses. It was so odd to feel Jones stroking him as much as Sienna did but since Drogo was in shock he didn’t even think of protesting.

The girl was unzipping the blondie’s jeans when he felt Sebastian’s palm sliding inside and caressing his lower abdomen… The vampire moaned unintentionally, feeling the fire of pleasure ignite in him. This was… rare… He pulled the girl closer and began kissing her on the mouth, grunting with want.

Soon, he took off her sweater and shirt and pulled down her lacey bra cups exposing her nipples. They looked so erotic, still restricted by the frilly bra, that both men eagerly leaned to suck on them.

Sienna let out a small cry, arching her back and gripping at both men. Her skin covered in goosebumps and her thighs spastically pressed together. Now her entire nether region was awakening and flaring up with the need to receive more pleasure.

To stall herself, she began kissing and caressing Drogo with all her passion and affection for him, subtly directing Sebastian to do the same.

The blondie moaned, closing his eyes. His skin felt orgasmic; he was kissed on the neck and throat, his Adam’s apple was tickled by someone’s wet tongue, his nipples were being pinched and tormented, his abdomen and sides were being impatiently stroked, and he felt two pairs of hands sliding his jeans off his hips…

“Mmmmmnnn…” he moaned, wanting this to continue on and on, his hands finding flesh and stroking it without being aware whose it was. “Aaahhhh…”

The girl’s hand finally reached for his tool, and he felt her hot wet mouth enveloping it. Simultaneously, he felt Jones pressing himself to him from the back and twisting his head in order to kiss him on the mouth…

Drogo shuddered and began moving his hips, carefully holding the girl’s head, while entwining his tongue with Sebastian’s.

The wickedness of it aroused him even more as he gave himself up to the wild sensations. He wanted more, all of it, everything they could give him; and so, he moaned and caressed them and fucked Sienna in her mouth with abandon.

Feeling that he was on the brink, he opened his eyes and turned to the girl. He pulled her up and gave her jeans a strong tug down. Then he turned her away from him and pushed her on the tabletop. She was already wet and welcoming, her smooth folds glistening with juices.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, Drogo forced himself in, groaning and tightly holding on to the girl’s hips, relishing in her sweet moans and whimpers.

“Ohhh yeah…” he whispered, thrusting his cock into her with the full power of his lust. Sebastian stood close, leaning onto them, his hand in his pants, his lips and the other hand still petting the vampire.

Drogo’s thrusts intensified by the second, his rapture, enhanced by the third partner, so intense that he totally lost control over his body and his senses, howling and moving in a frenetic tempo until he finally felt a powerful jet of his semen release his testicles from the sweet torture and fill the girl’s pussy.

“Arrrrgghhh…! Ummmmmm… Uhhhhhh… Oh yes…” he groaned, slowing down and caressing the girl gratefully. He made a few more thrusts, feeling his liquid inside her, his dick still hard enough to reach her cervix and knock on it with his tip. The rush was leaving him only slowly, replaced by a delicious lassitude. He still wanted to continue fucking his beloved girl but his body was already giving up, relaxing, and filling him with languorous happiness.

He slid out, caressing Sienna, and watched as Sebastian turned her over and pushed his massive dick where Drogo had been only moments before. Jones grunted, feeling, at last, the insides of his woman, and rammed it into her, drawing out her cries and tears of ecstasy. She was cumming with Drogo but a new stimulus made her reach a new peak, sending her into the second round of spasms and moans, exciting her new partner so much that he had to extract himself at the last moment, unable to control his ejaculation. His juice shot in a strong jet, covering the girl’s torso in the semen up to her throat, while she was moaning and clutching at the man, shuddering and breathless.

Sebastian began slowing down, panting, his face a mask of almost painful pleasure. He slid his palm over her tummy, smearing his liquid and squeezing her breast. His tension was draining from him, and he leaned over the girl to cover her face with grateful kisses.

“I’m spent but I still want you,” he murmured, caressing her. Drogo could attest to that as well as he joined Sebastian in caressing her.

Sienna sighed with satisfaction. Both men were leaning over her and giving her more gentle rubbing.

She stretched blissfully, stroked them both in recognition of their gratitude, and reluctantly sat up on the tabletop.

The semen on her skin was quickly drying, reminding her to wash it off, but she enjoyed smearing it over her tummy and breasts as a reminder of a rare instance when Jones could not contain himself.

“Let me help you wash it off,” murmured Sebastian, frowning, and went to the shower. Both others followed him.


	12. THE RIP

Predictably, Sarah was very upset with Dr. Jones’s decision and burst in a long string of angry exclamations, voicing her frustration. But her outbreak was drowned out in the general ruckus. Those who were elected, rejoiced and those who failed to get into the list, groaned.

Drogo, uncharacteristically present at class, was sitting with a mild smirk and observing the excited students.

He was musing on how their lovemaking changed his attitude toward the professor. His hand was now fondling the inside of Sienna’s thigh, and his tongue still remembered the taste of the professor’s kisses. It felt exhilarating.

He leaned to his girlfriend and hotly whispered in her ear:

“I want you right now…”

His hand traveled under her skirt and energetically rubbed her crotch. The girl looked at him with surprise and a slight flush on her cheeks.

“Oh, Drogo, not here!”

He chuckled.

“No one will notice in this bedlam…”

His dexterous fingertips slid past her panties and gently tickled her pussy. The girl gasped and went red, her eyes gleaming. They were both watching Jones deflect a barrage of questions and, simultaneously, were concentrating on the fingerplay under the table.

She bit her lip, her thighs parting to give the blond vampire better access.

“I’m sure you will soon need something thick to pump inside you…” Drogo whispered in her ear while his hand was mercilessly teasing her. He observed how her nipples became visible even through the uniform sweater. “You are blushing, little thing, and your breasts are betraying you…”

The girl gasped again, her mouth now open and her eyes dazed.

“Drogo, I…”

“Shush, little thing…” he purred, letting his fingers slide into her folds and further, into her wet opening, pushing them inside and massaging her.

His other hand was now holding her knee to prevent the girl from closing her legs, and she could feel that he was aroused, his hot breath on her neck and ear.

Somehow, Sebastian perceived what was going on. His nostrils flared, and he cast a direct, menacing glare at the couple and said loudly:

“And now, we have only five minutes left until the end of the lesson, so, I want those of you who join the expedition to write down the list of the necessary equipment. Those who stay, please read chapter 32 on excarnation. We will be discussing it on Wednesday. So, the equipment…”

He stopped drilling the couple on the upper gallery with his angry stare and turned away to write down the list on the chalkboard.

Sienna put her hand on Drogo’s to stop him from moving any further and murmured with a reluctant sigh:

“I’d better write that down, or he will eat me alive…”

When Drogo left them before the dance class, Sebastian finally got the chance to vent off his indignation.

“Are you out of your mind to do that in front of the entire class?! Not only it’s dangerous for many reasons, but it’s also disrespectful to people!”

Having seen it coming, Sienna remained calm and said pacifyingly:

“It wasn’t my idea. Drogo was very insistent…”

Sebastian frowned.

“The stupid moron! Did he want me to transform right there among people and go fight for my female?!”

Sienna smiled.

“Would you do that?”

The professor frowned and grumbled:

“I could…”

The girl studied him.

“I find it hard to believe after you surprised me yesterday with such a… an involved performance… When I saw you kissing him, I was completely… uh… dumbfounded. Could you explain?”

Sebastian pondered on how to say it and softly replied:

“Eh, well… we started it spontaneously, and then… lust is lust, touch is touch… your presence was enough for me to get aroused… It was as if I was loving you through him.”

Sienna smiled a nostalgic smile.

“Hmmmm… It was an interesting experience to have someone other than me being the focus of the group. I liked it and I believe Drogo needed that. It would be a good thing to do it again. And maybe make _you_ the focus next time…”

The man laughed.

“Oh, I’m a happy camper as it is when I’m with you.”

***

The mellow sounds of bossa nova and the suave voice of the singer swayed the whole dance hall, enveloping the dancers in a cloud of tenderness.

Sebastian was cradling Sienna in his arms, moving her to the rhythm of Quando Quando and smiling at her. She could not tear her eyes off him. They were both realizing that no secrets remained to any passing spectator, but just could not behave differently, in love with the music and each other.

He murmured, smiling: “This is a set-up. The person who chose this music must have wanted us to come out of the closet…”

But he was wrong. Corrie was not so serendipitous, she simply had this idea of having a languorous dance with professor Jones and was sorely disappointed, when at the first accords of the song he walked past her to take Sienna’s hand. Now, she was so frustrated that she scarcely paid any attention to others, the unpleasant feeling inside taking up all her resources. She had been under the impression that Jones and Sienna were more interested in athletic dances, and such light thing as a bossa nova would hold no appeal to them. She was mechanically twirling in the dance and fuming inside. What was wrong with Sienna?! Why all the sexiest men on campus could not tear eyes off her?! She cast an angry stare at the duet and stopped breathing: they were going to kiss!!! In the middle of the dance hall full of people!!!

But at the last instant, Jones missed the contact with Sienna’s lips, and Corrie understood that he was just on his way to grab her and lift above his head, obviously trying to add a few athletics to the laidback dance.

She turned her head away and stopped even bothering to look their way.

Sebastian put Sienna on her feet and whispered:

“Stay in front of me a bit.”

She nodded, understanding his problem. This problem occurred from time to time when the dances were not intensive enough.

Then he exhaled and whispered: “Thank you.” And she left the place to smile at him:

“And what do you do to quicken the process?”

“I think about our dean.”

Sienna burst out laughing. A few people looked at her, but she winked at them and her merriment spread contagiously through the hall.

Nancy came up to them and smiled a little sadly.

“You know, guys, I’ve been stalling this for a while, because we are having so much fun with you here, but I must say that you’ve outgrown my classes. I can give you several contacts of my colleagues, who would be more suitable for your level.”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m fine with your classes, Nancy. Soon, I’ll have to start the preparation program for those who come with me on the expedition, and I will hardly have any spare time to enhance my dancing skills.”

Sienna added:

“Thank you, Nancy. I will gladly take your contacts, but maybe you’ll allow me to drop by from time to time, just for fun?”

“Sure!” Nancy hugged her, then Jones affectionately. She gave the girl a paper with all contacts and added: “There is no rush, you still have two-weeks’ worth of classes paid for, so you have plenty of time to make your decision.”

Corrie was in a hurry to get out of the locker room, but so was Sienna. They almost simultaneously darted out and rushed down the corridor.

Sienna braked near Sebastian, and called out to rushing Corrie:

“See you later!”

The purple-headed girl sharply turned to her, and exclaimed angrily:

“I don’t think so, Richards. You see, there is not enough room around you for other people. Enjoy your dances with Dr. Jones, and your sex with Drogo, and the other Bartolis and whomever else you choose to sleep with!” and she stormed out of the place.

Sienna sighed.

“Oh well.” Then she turned to Jones. “Let’s go?”

He nodded.

“Sure.”

***

As was usual in the mornings, the campus was abuzz, people were greeting each other, anticipating another busy day ahead.

Sarah spotted her friend from afar and waved to her.

Sienna greeted a few acquaintances on her way and finally reached her cute witch friend.

“Hey, Sarah! You’re looking preoccupied this morning. Hard assignment in the Monthly?”

Sarah sighed and shook her head.

“I wish! Looks like you’ve made another girl disgruntled with your behavior…”

Sienna rolled her eyes.

“What is it this time?”

Sarah looked at her reproachfully.

“It’s Corrie…”

Sienna’s face lightened in understanding.

“Ah! That…! Yes, I know what you speak of. Last time at the dance class, Dr. Jones offered to be my partner at a bossa nova, and it looked like Corrie had hoped to get that dance with him. So, she flipped…”

Sarah made a face, baring her teeth and pulling a corner of her mouth to the side.

“Aw, that’s totally not her story… Now she’s joined the Samantha club…”

Sienna sighed and looked sad.

“Too bad. Corrie is a cool girl…”

Sarah nodded.

“Now she looks at me weirdly because I’m still your friend…”

Sienna laughed and hugged her.

“Ah, dear, with all these developments, I’m surprised as well at your loyalty… it’s totally supernatural…”

They giggled and went to classes.

The geology class left Sienna with lots of questions.

“I barely understand this stuff!” she complained to her friend. “Let’s go to the library, maybe there are books for dummies!”

Suddenly her phone vibrated, and she looked at it in surprise.

“My dad! What the heck…! I’m sorry, dear, I have to take that call…”

Sarah nodded and stepped aside, giving her friend space.

She heard an unfamiliar language and a barrage of questions. By the tone of it, the conversation was far from happy. When at last Sienna hung up, her expression was troubled.

She sighed deeply and explained to her friend:

“My dad’s close friend just died. Dad is totally devastated, so I might have to fly to Austria for the funeral…”

Sarah hugged her.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Sienna shook her head.

“For now, I’m on standby, but I’ll have to notify my… close ones…”

At the entrance to the library, she dialed Sebastian and explained to him the situation. He asked her to wait for him and hung up. Then she called Nicolas and texted Drogo.

Sarah admired how her friend stayed focused and followed her to the library when all calls were made.

Once inside, Sienna spotted Corrie’s purple head and went directly to her.

“Corrie, hi. I know that you are angry with me, but know that I feel very bad about the whole situation. You are a very cool girl, and I am sorry to lose your friendship like this…”

Corrie glared at her with animosity.

“Oh, so you’re sorry? Good for you! Maybe that’ll make you feel like us, mere mortals do!”

Sienna frowned.

“But that’s not true, I never viewed anyone inferior to me!”

Corrie twisted her lips in a contemptuous grimace.

“Right, and the campus isn’t your playground, miss Perfection!”

Sienna sighed and shook her head.

“It’s so sad that you of all people should see it like this…!”

She wanted to add something but a calming hand lowered onto Sienna’s shoulder. She turned around and saw Sebastian standing behind her. He nodded to her and made a sign to let him speak.

“Corrie, I realize that you are upset and that you may view miss Richards as the one responsible for the situation. But you see, I may appear very approachable, that comes with the job, and sometimes it gets people confused and view my attitude as something personal when it is not. However, as my friend here can attest to, no one, including her, can have any power over my affections. So, it is pointless to argue over something that none of you have control over. You are a wonderful person, Corrie, and you are a very attractive girl. I sincerely hope that you stop dwelling over such sorrows and move on to some happier impressions…”

Corrie glared at him, then at Sienna, grabbed her things and, having muttered: “Right!” stormed out of the hall.

Sebastian sighed and turned to Sienna. Sarah stood a few steps away, attentively watching their interaction. He asked:

“How are you holding up?”

The girl shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m fine. I remember the guy when I was little, but I’m not heartbroken over him. It’s just this whole funeral business is a bit too much for me right now…”

Jones hesitated, then asked her:

“Do you want me to come over with you?”

The girl shook her head negatively.

“Nah, you are responsible for a whole lot of things, you cannot abandon everything. Maybe I will not have to go…”

Sebastian sighed and whispered to her:

“I’ll hug you back home, okay?”

But at home, they were met with Drogo, all business.

“I’ve already booked a flight and packed a few things. I know that you may view this funeral differently but as I’ve recently learned, a proper goodbye can make all the difference. Plus, you’ve told me plenty about your father and I’m sure you’d like to support him. And I’d like to support you,” he added, smiling mischievously and casting a probative glance at the frowning professor. “Doc, you know well you cannot spare a week on personal stuff now, with your busy schedule, so don’t worry, I’ll play your body double again. Don’t thank me.”

***

After the funeral and all the rituals, Sienna returned to the hotel, drained. She loved her father dearly but the way the man clang onto his sadness despaired her.

She sighed and began eagerly shedding black clothes and tossing them away.

Drogo, also clad in black, was silently watching her without any attempts at trying to be clever.

The girl was grateful for that. One of the things she valued most in him was his unbelievable sense of tact. Even at his worst, he always knew exactly what to say and to whom.

She sighed.

“Thank you for being there with me. It seems that you’ve made a very good impression on my dad. Even if he was so devastated… Poor man.”

“He must’ve been very close with his friend,” noted Drogo neutrally, unhurriedly picking up the girl’s clothes from the floor and putting them into the hotel bag with the inscription “ _For Dry Cleaning_.”

She went into the bathroom and ran the water.

Drogo smelled her bra. The smell was different from her usual scent, it was permeated with a tang of stress.

His pupils contracted, his predator side smelling the hunt, his guts swelling with the pleasure of anticipation.

But he reined in his instinct, willing his appetite and his john to calm down.

He opened the minibar and poured himself a whiskey.

Sienna, wrapped in a large towel, entered the room and looked at the blond man with a small smile.

“Drogo…?”

He looked at her calmly, holding the glass in his hand, waiting for her to continue.

She carefully approached him, sat on the armrest of his chair, and pressed her lips to his temple.

“Thank you.”

The man shrugged his shoulders, put the glass on the table, and hugged the girl by the waist.

“Don’t worry, little thing. I’m here,” he said soothingly, stroking her back.

She ruffled his head affectionately.

He chuckled.

“What’s this, little thing? Are you hitting on me?”

Sienna smiled and went to sit on his lap.

“I don’t know yet…” she murmured, caressing his head. “Maybe it’s just gratitude…”

Drogo sighed and looked her in the eyes, studying her.

“Or you are just horny, my little slutty thing. You want me to spread your legs and do you, right?”

The girl watched his face, his hairline, his dark brows, his sharp silvery eyes, his well-defined straight nose, his sensual lips, his stubborn jawline…

“You are beautiful…” she whispered, gently caressing the oval of his face.

He winced and scoffed, momentarily turning away.

“Yeah, I know. That’s why Vittore drank my life in the first place…”

Sienna shook her head in negation.

“I didn’t say ‘handsome,’ I said ‘beautiful.’ Referring to you, not your appearance. I love you.”

He was never prepared for hearing such things. He froze, then scoffed disdainfully.

“These little things… growing so sentimental in the face of their frailty…”

Not offended in the least, Sienna kissed his cheekbone.

“Well, maybe you’re right… Still, this frailty gives us the opportunity to see…”

Drogo sighed and closed his eyes. He had seen plenty of things he never ever wanted to see. He had seen such unfathomable darkness that had swallowed him up, drowning his reason and his self… And then, in the middle of it, he saw her light, and smelled pancakes with blueberries… To call it a miracle was to say nothing.

“Sienna… I love you,” he said in a colorless voice because he knew that no voice in the world could ever express what he was feeling.

A shadow of a smile graced her lips. Then she touched his face, kissed him on the brow, and reached for his hand, letting their fingers gently entwine.

***

The plane landed at the local airport early in the morning, giving people plenty of time to get home before the start of the working day.

Sienna looked somewhat distraught when she watched Drogo opening the cab door for her.

She was eager to see her professor at last but she couldn’t just leave the vampire on his own, knowing full well how he would react. Hence, going home to Sebastian now felt like treason. But the blond man was behaving as if nothing happened, coolly going through the motions with their luggage and conversing with the driver.

Having caught her worried stare at him, Drogo grinned and winked at her.

“Don’t worry, little thing. Some meager jealousy cannot do me much damage, you know. Go have some fun with Doc, I need to take care of my BDSM studio anyway…”

Sienna sneaked toward the backdoor of the professor’s house as she now grew accustomed to, so as not to run the risk of being seen at his porch.

At the backyard, she saw him training. It was an uncommon sight, as she was usually busy with her own morning routines when he was doing his exercises, so now she had an exclusive opportunity to watch him. She was glued to the spot in awe with his speed, swiftness, and power. He was performing a cross between capoeira, yoga, ballet, gymnastics, and taekwondo, all this accompanied by occasional playful goofing around, which looked extremely entertaining and definitely impressive.

Having caught sight of her, he took out his cordless earphones and brightly grinned at her, slightly panting:

“Welcome home, baby! So glad to see you!”

They kissed, and he asked, rubbing her back:

“So, how was your trip?”

Sienna sadly shrugged her shoulders.

“As could be expected… Well, I hope it’s over. I will need to make a few extra calls to make sure that my dad is holding on…”

Sebastian nodded.

“Sure. Whatever you need.”

The girl smiled at him.

“Your training is beyond awesome!”

The man laughed merrily.

“Ah, I like to keep my body guessing how I will kick the crap out of it this time…”

The girl, starry-eyed, mumbled:

“I’m speechless. I’ve never seen anything quite so… incredible… You move like you weigh nothing at all!”

He kissed her on the cheek, having lightly scratched her with his stubble and murmured softly:

“Thanks, baby. But sorry, now, I need to get back to it or I’ll be late for the lecture. We’ll talk more about your trip in the evening, okay?”

He put his earphones back on and made a triple backward somersault. Sienna, feeling dumbfounded, sat on the edge of a garden armchair to watch him, completely spellbound.

In a half-hour, when he jumped into the cold pool, she gasped and rose from her seat, a few far-reaching droplets of water startling her.

Sebastian emerged from the pool, shaking his head and sputtering. Then he climbed out, combed back his wet hair, dropped his wet pants to the floor, picked them off in a fluid motion, wrung them out, letting all the water splash on the floorboards of the veranda, and, naked, winked to Sienna and went to the shower.

The girl noticed a curtain on the second floor of a neighboring house move. She imagined that Jones’s daily performance could provide quite an entertainment for his neighbors. But that also meant that his neighbors were in the first row for many other kinds of entertainment… The girl blushed like a peony and hurried inside.

“Are you aware that your muscled butt entertains your neighbors each morning?” Sienna asked him when the latter stepped out of the shower.

Sebastian grinned crookedly, tossed his wet pants into the washing machine, and went to the first floor, leaving a trail of wet steps on the floor.

“Yes, I let Mrs. Chadwick have some fun. She’s harmless and never called police to my parties,” he shouted from his room.

Sienna thought about the disbelief she had experienced watching him train and said:  
“So, now that I know that I’ve barely scratched the surface of your capabilities, start preparing for a more serious dance!”

He laughed:

“Okay, baby, try your best. Just be aware that you’ll have to train too.”

Sienna saw his phone lying around and asked him:

“Can I take a look at your playlist?”

“Be my guest. But there is a password on the lock screen. Try to guess it…”

Sienna hesitated.

“Is it your birthday?”

“Too easy. Any student could crack it and see all the naughtiness I’ve been writing to you. You have two more tries.”

Puzzled, the girl rummaged through her memory.

“Is it the date of your first discovery?”

“Which discovery?”

She scratched her head.

“I remember that you found a very valuable Pueblo vase being 24 years old, but I cannot remember the exact date…”

Somewhere inside the house, Sebastian mimicked the unpleasant sound of the wrong answer and shouted:

“Wrong. Think again. I would never put on something that could be easily learned from my resume. One last try.”

Sienna bit her lip.

“But you said ‘discovery’… Hmmm… And you’re sure I can guess it… Is it when you learned that I was interested in you but slept with all the vampires?”

The man burst in laughter.

“Oh, Sienna…!”

He appeared on the staircase, freshly shaven, combed and dressed in his university uniform.

He jumped off the last stairs, took the phone and showed the screen to Sienna. He slowly put in the code and, grinning, gave her the phone.

Sienna cocked her head.

“I don’t remember this date, it’s just a couple of days after I first came to the Uni…” then it dawned on her. “Is it… my first Myths and Legends class?!”

Jones returned to the hallway heaving a bag full of papers and ruffled the girl’s hair.

“Yep, baby.”

“The one when we made fun of you with Sarah?!”

Sebastian leaned to her and kissed her on the mouth, his woody aftershave arousing her senses. The kiss stretched on, both people becoming more and more involved in it. Jones moaned.

“I need to get out before I get late…” he took the phone from her hand and said: “I’ll give you an opportunity to rummage through my phone later…”

“But… what did you see in me then?” she asked, trying to resist the proximity of his body.

He smiled.

“Everything.”

Then he turned and went to the door.

“Don’t be late to my class, or I’ll complain to your boyfriend,” he smirked on his way out.

Sienna rolled her head back, then asked him, grinning:

“Maybe you should better complain to my husband? He would have sex with me right here in this corridor…”

Sebastian froze. Then he slowly turned to her, his eyes glistening.

“I…” he went out of breath. Then he inhaled again, but his voice faltered. At the third try, he spoke in a hoarse voice: “I never wanted to impose my wishes on you. I understand that you’re too young and that for now, we haven’t even lived through the first phase of enamourment. It’s simply too soon… however, I wished to…”

The girl approached him and said simply:

“I feel you like my husband, my second half. You’ve disrupted my quiet and joyful life with the Bartolis, but as soon as I knew that you felt the same for me, I was ready to say goodbye to them if only you just said the word. I want you, your kids, your smiles and frowns, and I wouldn’t change it for the most expensive bling in the world. But I agree, it’s too soon.”

They embraced tightly, and stood like this for a few minutes, just breathing. Then she tore herself from him and added in a business-like tone:

“You should go. I’ll see you in the class.”

Sebastian exhaled as if he just heaved a1.5-ton car and left, too engrossed in what he heard to be able to reply to her immediately, nodded, and opened the door.

***

Lorie was making Sienna laugh so hard that she had hiccups.

“Oh dear, that boy was only trying to get your attention! He likes you, sweetie!”

Lorie pouted.

“He is stupid! Any sane person can tell that if you like someone, you get her presents, not pull on hair!”

Sienna sighed, smiling.

“No one said that boys are bright around girls. They may be very clever, but when they see a girl they like, they just go off the rails!”

The little girl attentively looked at her nanny.

“So that’s why my brothers act so stupid around you?”

Sienna shrugged.

“I guess. But I do lots of stupid stuff around them too.”

“Why?”

“I just happen to like them very-very much…”

At this moment, Nicolas came in, grinning.

Sienna mockingly frowned.

“Have you been eavesdropping on our girls’ talk?!”

He beamed at her.

“Only a couple of last lines.”

She sighed.

“Now that’s a bummer.”

Nicolas stroked Lorie’s head affectionately and tenderly told her:

“It’s time to go to sleep, dear. You will be able to play with Sienna tomorrow, as usual. All right?”

The little vampire scowled.

“Do we get to read a story?”

Sienna grinned, climbed into bed next to Lorie and said:

“Of course, sweetie! We will continue the Headless Horseman story. Nicolas impersonates so well male characters! He will help us read!”

Nicolas, with an excited glint in his eyes, carefully squeezed in behind Sienna, pressing himself to her back, and smiled to his little sister:

“I’ll do my best…”

They switched off the light in Lorie’s room and crept into the hallway.

Sienna sighed.

“I’m worried for Lorie, when… if I go to this expedition…”

Nicolas looked at her attentively.

“Why the doubt?”

Sienna shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m afraid that the cat will get out of the bag, so to speak, and Sebastian will be accused of being biased. Which he is.”

Nicolas did not seem impressed.

“Don’t let it get into your head, Sienna. The panel is there for precisely such reason. Unless you are anxious about your grades…”

The girl shook her head.

“Dr. Brian Gilbert usually gives me the highest grades…”

Nicolas softly put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

“Then there is nothing to worry about. Are you hungry?”

Sienna shook her head negatively.

“Not particularly. But I’ve been missing you with this trip and all, and I would love to get your massage…”

The vampire smiled.

“You’ve come to the right address.”

*** 

Each time when she returned from the manor, Sebastian felt her being miles away from him, so he formed a habit of minding his own business until she addressed him in a more intimate way. Tonight, she was particularly distant and distraught. And she smelled of rose and neroli oils.

Trying to prevent a flare-up, Sebastian went to the tatami room and kicked the mended punch-bag until it split again. Then he went outside to smell the fresh air. He wanted to roar. All muscles rippled under his skin on the verge of transformation. In his jaguar form, he got aroused only in the presence of a female in heat. His female wasn’t obviously in heat now. As a mental experiment, he tried to picture the reaction of Mrs. Chadwick if she were to witness his transformation. Whatever the neighbor’s reaction, he could not endanger people around him, so, he just sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes.

***

His mood did not improve the next day as Drogo materialized on their doorstep first thing in the morning, offering, as usual, to walk them to the Uni.

The blond vampire behaved self-assuredly, teasing him, hinting at things that they spoke of and did during the trip, engaging Sienna in reminiscing about things that Sebastian wasn’t privy to.

As a result, by the time he changed into his dance clothes he was ready to appropriate the girl right there in the middle of the dance hall.

Making an effort to appear calm, he smiled engagingly at Nancy and playfully asked her:

“How come we never learned the Argentinian tango so far? There are lots of its elements in many contemporary dances…”

Nancy smiled with a knowing glint in her eyes.

“Ah yes, the tango! All right, I believe that’s an excellent idea, Dr. Jones.”

When the warm-up was over, the instructor explained to them the basic moves, and the practice began.

Resolutely, Sebastian offered his hand to Corrie.

“I believe you could say many things with this dance,” he murmured softly, taking her hand. He could barely look at Sienna, his animal passion roaring inside him, fearing her presence would provoke him to do something very rash.

When the class ended and the tired but happy dancers showered, changed, and rushed home, Sebastian hurriedly said goodbye to Corrie and texted Sienna:

“ _My car. Now! No Drogo, no anyone else_!”

The girl went speechless when she received the message. At first, she thought that something happened but the order not to involve vampires felt like something else… The professor had never abused his authority and his power over her, hence, now, she felt a pleasurable nervousness obeying his command and hurrying to the parking.

The car ride was tense. The man stayed clear from her and barely looked at the girl, his conversation rendered to a series of curt remarks.

Sienna accepted it, trusting the man enough to stay calm and wait for their return home.

Once the door to his house was locked from the inside, Sebastian pressed Sienna to the wall and began kissing her on the mouth, crashing his body against hers.

“I thought my pants would rip and I’d have to do you somewhere in a broom-closet right on the Uni grounds!” he exclaimed, fiercely biting into her trapezoid. His hands almost hurt her, gripping her at odd places, his body tense and ravenous for coupling. His fervor and vigor surprised the girl, but her body was already responding to him, eager to know him again after the long pause.

She felt him, hard as a stone, pressing to her urgently, and moaned, butterflies in the pit of her stomach...

“Mmmmuhhhh...”

The man began feverishly undressing her and shedding his own clothes.

“You drive me crazy!” he mumbled breathlessly, his mouth tormenting her cheek, throat, shoulder, and lower, as if eager to devour her whole, leaving his saliva all over her skin. Then, hands on her breasts, he let his avid mouth glide still lower, to her tummy and navel. He was so aroused that he could barely restrain himself, his powerful body shaking with the want to possess her.

With one forceful movement, he pulled down her jeans along with her panties and clang to her pubic hair with his greedy mouth. They both moaned from the intensity of the contact, she felt his tongue parting her labia and pressed his head to her crotch, shuddering with pleasure. She felt like finally coming back home. With all this rush and excitement, she felt that he wanted to make her his again, to ascertain that she was still belonging to him in a powerful primaeval sense, that she was his woman.

“Don’t let me cum into you,” he moaned, completely losing his mind, and swiftly straightening himself up to brutally shaft her all the way up into her.

She cried out, feeling his raw strength and uncompromising drive to own her, unleashed from the flimsy layer of good social manners and the tinge of civilization. A beast was before her, ramming into her in the madness of ancient lust.

“Give it to me…” she murmured when his powerful thrusts intensified, driving her into the same frenzy.

She was opening for him like a primal female, thriving in his sizzling passion, letting him go as far as he wanted and enjoying every beat of his cock inside her.

All he was capable of doing before he spilled into her was to turn her around and enter from behind. He knew it was too rough for her and that it had never been done before on the fly, but, under the circumstances, when he felt drawn into her like an industrial magnet, it was the only thing he managed to do.

“Sorry…” he mumbled, pressing her to the wall and relentlessly thrusting past her sphincter. But she arched her back to help him get a better angle, pushed against the wall, and literally dissolved in the ultimate submission, feeling him move to and fro inside her.

The man clutched her torso in his violent grasp, completely immobilizing her and plastering her delicate frame against his impossibly strong muscled body. His guttural groans made her skin crawl with sweet shivers, evoking something so powerful and primordial that it defied reason. When he fixated her neck with his teeth, she felt her own body spasmodically cumming and consuming her in a cascade of a Niagara-sized flow of bright explosions.

“Argh…! Argh…! Aaaaaaahhhhh…!” his final loud groans in her ear sounded desperate as if he lost all sense of self, filling her with his cum and collapsing under the magnitude of his own sensations, drowning in her… It made her melt completely, irrevocably surrendering to him.

When they finally disengaged, covered in saliva, sweat, bitemarks, feces, and semen, Sebastian loudly sighed and checked her face to see how she fared.

The girl smiled at him tiredly, exhausted by the experience, barely holding herself upright, her legs wobbly.

“Forgive me for hurting you,” he said in a croaky voice and making an effort not to hide his face. She just nodded, unable to speak, still coming back to her senses. She let him carry her into the bathroom, wash her, and lower her meek body into the tub filling with warm water.

Then he cleaned himself and kneeled before the bathtub.

“I… went crazy when you flew away…” he sighed, searchingly looking again into her face, as if afraid to see any displeasure in her.

Sienna was feeling wonderfully relaxed, and minor sores and aches could not diminish the rapture that was still echoing all through her body and making her feel alight with a cheerful buzz like a Christmas tree. Sebastian’s anxiety was completely unfounded.

She languidly leaned to him and kissed him on the mouth.

“If jealousy drives you nuts, watch out, because I want you just like this!” she smiled at him. “You were splendid! You’re really a god of the most steaming hot sex on earth! And I want you more than anyone on earth!”

They kissed fervently, their thinking capacities flying out the window again.

They were enjoying the sensuality of lying in bed together naked, fulfilled, tenderly kissing, and fondling each other. The intensity of their mutual attraction was so high that they did not even feel the urgency to eat or sleep, completely infatuated with each other.

They did not use any words for communication, it seemed superfluous somehow. Their bodies were rejoicing in the mutual presence and it was enough for the time being. His frenzy tamed, he regained all his skills that were making his lover’s body respond to him like a finely attuned violin, and once again, Sienna was feeling enslaved to his touch. The night was long and full of delights.

***

The pancakes forgotten, Sebastian was kissing Sienna, the latter sitting on the kitchen table and dangling her feet.

“It’s your shooting practice day?” he reconfirmed, finally going to turn the pancakes over.

The girl nodded, in spite of him being unable to see her nod, jumped off the tabletop, and went to take a yoghurt drink in the fridge.

Having taken a seat at the table on the other side from Jones, she said:

“My poor ass will not take another rough treatment until the end of the week, so I might as well go shoot some target. Don’t feel guilty, it was the craziest ride so far in my entire life, and I am more bragging with my sores than anything… Don’t get surprised if one day I’ll ask for more…”

She finished her yoghurt in a few gulps and crawled around the table, smiling foxily. “But since I know that Thursday is a hard day for you…” She waited for him to empty the pan contents into two plates and to put the hot pan back onto a cold part of the oven. Then she unceremoniously pulled down his pants and took his genitals into her hands, while looking him in the eyes. Sebastian, holding her gaze, felt around for a stool and sat on it, waiting for the girl’s further actions.

Her mouth was deliciously cool from drinking a cold yoghurt, and the man gasped, delightful shivers running down his spine.


End file.
